One Pony's Tale: The Drake Chronicles Vol 9: A Game of Shadow
by Dr-Lovekill
Summary: Part 9 of the series. Drake is summoned by his friend Princess Luna to investigate the mysterious murders of several criminals. Drake, Dash and Budder soon find that this case is not a simple murder mystery, and as they follow the clues and the trail of bodies, they are led closer to a dark and supernatural pony who may be more than a bloodthirsty killer. Rated for violence,
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

 _ **Hey everypony! I was finally able to begin writing Volume 9, and I bet you're all happy to see this one finally arrive. It took me for a while to get cleared to write this one, as it contains multiple OC's from several sources. So first, I want to give credit where credit is due. Thanks to Zee66 of Deviantart for allowing me use of Echo the Bat Pony. Thanks to bluecatcinema for helping me track down leads. Thanks to Captain Fuckew McHugerage for one of his OC's, who will be showing up soon. And last but not least, special thanks to my little girl for supplying not only Budder to this story, but another of her OC's as well. And thanks to all of you who have followed this series from the beginning, and a warm welcome to all of you just now joining the anthology. Feel free to go back and enjoy Drake's story from the beginning. You won't be sorry for the time you spend reading it. And so, with that, let us now begin chapter one. Enjoy, and please review, everypony!**_

During my time as a detective in the employ of the Princesses of Equestria, I'd had a few cases that were just plain strange. A couple were beyond weird, and firmly in the domain of the dark and macabre. I cannot give a full account of my most monumental cases without mention of this particular incident. My sister wanted me to include this in my autobiography as well, and as you may all know by this point, I can't deny her anything, so I will include the twisted events here in my little personal history.

Dashie, Budder and I had just gotten in from a shopping trip in town. This means we went to the smaller mom-and-pop grocer, and not any of the fancy boutique shops that had become so prevalent in our town outside of Manehattan. A recent incursion of artsy-types and hipster-ponies had caused our suburban paradise to become a beatnik-hell. I liked my coffee shops, but seven in a town with a population of twenty five hundred ponies was just overdoing it. What town needs three art galleries anyhow?"

"Alright guys. Ya'll wanna help me put up the grub before we go get some lunch?" I asked as we entered the front door. I sat my three bags down on the dining table.

"Ah...I'm just gonna crash for a while." Dashie said. "Time for my mid-afternoon nap." She sat two bags of groceries on the table.

"As opposed to your mid-morning nap...or your noon siesta...or your evening snooze?" I commented.

"Shup." She said, sticking her tongue out immaturely.

"That's alright. Me and Budder'll put up the groceries, then we're gonna go out and grab a sammich. You can stay here and sleep if you want...but you'll be missing sammich, so it's up to you."

"Sleep now, sammich later." Dash replied with a wave of a hoof. "That's my philosophy."

"Alright...your loss." I shrugged. Dashie yawned.

"Wake me up when you get back, kay?"

"You sure you want us to do that?" I asked with a grin. "Cause I can think up some really inventive and disturbing ways to wake somepony up." My marefriend glowered at me.

"Dude, you'd better not." Rainbow Dash advised. "If you wanna sleep in the same bed with me, that is."

"Heheh..." I chuckled. "Alright...go get your beauty sleep." I said.

"Not that I need it..." She commented, fishing for a compliment.

"Beauty's in the eyes of the beerholder." I answered wryly. Rainbow narrowed her eyes, and with a toss of her head, she walked out of the room.

With my marefriend in the parlor dozing off, Budder put up all of the newly-purchased groceries in the kitchen, while I arranged all of the tropical fruits I had bought in a large red bowl on the dining table. Not that they'd last very long, but at least they could serve a decorative purpose until they served the purpose of being consumed. With all the foodstuffs now put up, and Dashie unconscious on the couch, my sister and I left to get ourselves some lunch at the small bistro down the street.

Budder and I got home a little more than an hour later. We walked into the left parlor to see Dashie still sawing logs on the soft couch. I shook my head and walked out of the room and down the small hallway to the dining room. I tossed my house key onto the table as always, then stopped. In the middle of the large table was an empty bowl. Where once an impressive assortment of tropical fruits once graced the table, was now an empty vessel. I narrowed my eyes. Dashie had obviously been asleep the whole time, and she didn't like fruit this much anyhow.

"The Hell..." I muttered. I looked around the kitchen suspiciously as my sister walked in. "Sis...did you swipe the fruit?"

"The what now?" She replied, looking around.

"The fruit, angel...the mangoes and the passionfruits and junk I had on the table?" I asked. "I was gonna make some kind of exotic fruit salad with those. Now they're gone." My sister looked around some more, as if the collection of strange fruits would be walking around the room somehow.

"Drake, I've been out with you." She said. "Rainbow Dash might have done it. We know how she eats."

"No...she don't like that kind of fruit. Besides, she's been asleep."

"Ghosts, maybe?" She offered.

"We ain't had no grocery-stealing ghosts in here before. If there's ghosts in here, you let 'em in. No...somepony did this."

"What? Stole your fruit?"

"Yes. Filched the fruit. Kyped the Kiwis. Purloined the Passionfruit!"

"Heehee." Budder giggled.

"Eheehee..." Another light, feminine voice giggled, making me freeze. For a brief moment, we simply stood there, staring into each others' eyes.

"Sis...I don't think we're alone in here..." I whispered. I reached over to where a broom was leaned against the corner. In one quick, adrenaline-fueled movement, I spun about, holding the cleaning implement like a lance, only to find the room behind me empty. I cocked up my right eyebrow in contemplation. "Okay...I'm not going completely crazy...you heard that too, right?"

"Uh-huh..." Budder nodded. "I told you...it's ghosts."

"Hm. Well, if you think so, get your equipment and some sage and get rid of it!" I stated. Wait...something wasn't quite right here. "Budder...I get the strangest feeling...that we're being watched." I muttered. Just then, a splat on the floor caught my attention. I looked to see one of my guavas, now brown and squishy, splattered on the hardwood floor. "What the..." I said. I looked up at the high-vaulted ceiling, and found the culprit. A bat pony mare was hanging upside down from the ceiling of the dining room, an innocent grin on her face.

"Heehee." She giggled cutely.

"You're the one that ate my fruit!" I exclaimed. "Wait...what the Hell are you doing in my house?!" The bat pony spread her dark blue bat wings and glided to the floor in front of me. She was a light gray-blue color, with a dark blue mane and tail. She looked at me happily with cat-like golden-amber eyes, trademark of the nocturnal equines.

"Oh...eheh. Princess Luna sent me to talk to you." She said. "She couldn't come herself, and said she's sorry about that, by the way...but yeah...I'm her messenger, Echo."

"Oh." I said calmly. Then I gestured to the guava on the floor. "But why did you eat my fruit?!"

"Oh...oops...eheh...sorry about that, Lieutenant." She replied with a smile. "I was waiting for you to get home, and I got like...really hungry. I couldn't help it. I _love_ mangoes. Well...mangoes...and guavas and kiwis and..." She caught my stoical gaze and gave me yet another innocent little grin. "I'll buy you more if you want..."

"Ugh...no...it's alright, I guess..." I sighed. My sister walked up slowly to Echo, curious about the bat pony, and held out a hoof, as if to poke the newcomer. Echo playfully nipped at her hoof, and she jerked it back instinctively.

"You're a bat pony." Budder said, enthralled.

"Uh-huh." Echo replied proudly. "I got the wings and everything, see?" The messenger spread her wings, showing off the appendages as if they were a badge of honor.

"Cooooooool!" My sister gushed. "Bat ponies are so awesome!"

"I know, right?!" Echo replied excitedly.

"My name's Budder."

"Echo! Nice to meet ya!"

"Ahem..." I cleared my throat. The two easily-distracted ponies gave me their attention. "You said Princess Luna sent you to speak to me about something?"

"Yep!" Echo answered. She pulled a letter from the small black haversack she wore and unfolded it. "There's been a few incidents that have gotten her attention lately. A bunch of bad ponies, you know...killers, drug dealers, foal abusers and stuff...they've been murdered."

"Good for them!" I interjected. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Well, Princess Luna wants you to investigate the killings, and find out who's doing it. That's what she said, at least." The bat pony said.

"Ugh...I find and arrest bad ponies..." I groused. "I don't usually find who's _killing_ bad ponies. I don't really get this case. They do a pretty good job of eliminating themselves all the time...and that usually saves me some work. Why is this such a high-priority, anyway?"

"Umm..." Echo thought, looking over the letter. "I don't think she mentioned that." I rolled my eyes.

"How long have you been Luna's messenger?" I asked.

"I just started!" She said happily.

"Uh-huh." I grunted. "Thought so."

"She talks about you all the time." Echo stated. "Um...the princess, I mean. When this assignment came up, I just had to meet you myself! That's why I volunteered to bring the message."

"Okay..." I began.

"And you're just as cool as Princess Luna said. I mean...I thought you'd be more...you know..." She stood on her hind legs and did her best impression of The Exterminator. "Ahm gonna bloo...you ahp. Hasta la vista baby." She dropped back on all fours. "But it's all good. You're funny and smart like the princess said, and handsome too." I rolled my eyes again and sighed.

"Are you always this hyper?" I asked.

"Meh. I have a sunny disposition. Most ponies seem to like it." Echo replied.

"I do! You wanna hang out sometime?" My sister asked bluntly.

"Totally!" Echo exclaimed.

"Oh lord..." I groaned. "Two of them..." I interrupted the blossoming friendship. "I'll go see Luna tonight to figure this out. Since you two are bosom chums now, you can stay till then, Echo."

"Sweet!" Echo exclaimed happily.

"Come on, you gotta see my room!" My sister called. "I have ghost hunting equipment!"

"Nice!" The bat pony replied just as eagerly. The two galloped out of the dining room.

"We'll leave in two hours!" I called after them.

"Wha...huh?" Rainbow Dash yawned, entering the room. "What they hay is goin' on?"

"Ahhh...we gotta go see Princess Luna in a couple hours. A bunch of criminals got offed, and she wants us to find out why, so it looks like we got a new case. Oh, and Budder is friends with a bat pony now." Dashie wiped the sleep out of her eyes and stared at me a moment.

"The heck did I miss?" She asked incredulously.

"Sammiches." I answered.

 _ **What did you think, loyal readers? I know that the first chapter alone is no way to judge a fic, but I think this one's off to a pretty good start. I look forward to hearing your input. Once again, thanks to Zee66 for Echo. I came across her, and just fell in love with her personality. I just knew that I had to find a way to use her in a story. She fits in so well with Budder, I think. Perhaps it's the start of a lifelong friendship? Maybe. I'm sure you're all wondering how this case will turn out. I will try not to keep all of you waiting too long for an update, and try to have chapter two up sometime tomorrow. So until then, thank you for reading, everypony. -Drake**_


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

 _ **Hey everypony. Sorry for not getting this chapter up sooner. I'm in the middle of a damned bad cold, and the main symptom of this particular strain is fatigue. Horrible fatigue. As in I wake up with all my strength sapped, and it's miserable. But I was able to get this one written out for you all. Enjoy, and please review.**_

Later that afternoon, we found ourselves on an express train bound for Canterlot. With any luck (and a train running on time), we would make it to the Royal Palace and be able to speak to Luna before midnight. I wanted to learn directly from the source just why I was being assigned to investigate a couple of dead killers and drug dealers. Something about the case just didn't feel right. Usually when I got that feeling, it meant that we were in for a bumpy ride of an investigation. As I sat on the padded bench of the train car next to Rainbow Dash, I tried to push these thoughts from my mind. In fact, as always before a case, I tried to push _all_ thoughts about the case out of my mind. The worst thing a detective can do is to go into an investigation with preconceived notions and personal biases. It's better to go in blind, and mold your theories off of the evidence only.

Because Luna's messenger Echo and Budder were hitting it off so well, I ended up having to buy an extra ticket for the bat pony so she could travel with us. My sister sat next to Luna's messenger, the two of them talking incessantly about video games, ghosts, zombies, and all the things she'd probably needed somepony to talk to about for years. I was actually quite happy that Budder had made a friend. She needed somepony outside of the family to talk to, after all. It was true that Echo was a bit older than my sister, I guessed her age to be about seventeen or eighteen, but it didn't matter. Budder felt more comfortable around older ponies anyway, not that her new friend was the paradigm of maturity herself. She'd ate all of my damned fruit.

"What do ya think all this is about anyway?" Dashie asked quietly. I sighed, and looked at the floor of the car a moment. "I mean really."

"Well, if you want a sitrep, all I know at this point is that a bunch of random bad ponies got themselves murdercated, and Luna wants us to look into it. Not gonna speculate who or why, but it's really bothering me why it's such a big deal that they're calling us in."

"Well...it's technically still murder, and that's illegal and stuff...like, even though it's criminals that are being murdered..." Dashie stated.

"I know that. And I'm not disputing that killing is killing, even if it's dirtbags getting killed...but you do know how many badponies are taken out every day? You hardly ever hear of a murder anywhere in Equestria, but when you do, it's usually some crook offing another crook over something illegal." I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. I could hear my sister telling Echo a story about her adventure in the Hell House. "I don't like working serial killer cases, okay?"

"Oh..." Dash muttered. "Is it 'cause of..."

"Yes." I stated, cutting her off right there. Rainbow Dash leaned over and cuddled up to me. I smiled a little, and put my left foreleg over her. "Killing in the heat of the moment is one thing, be it self-defense, or war, or a botched robbery. Somepony sitting around, coldly rationalizing how they're gonna murder somepony else and get away with it...again and again...it's almost too much to even think about."

"I know." Rainbow Dash said softly.

"Studying them don't make it any better." I continued. "I've read all the literature there is on serial killers. They're programmed for it..."

"Huh?" Dashie asked curiously.

"You feel compelled to be competitive and lazy. I feel compelled to learn new things and to make bad jokes. Budder is compelled to be...well, Budder. Serial killers kill. It's what they do. It's what they live for. Their minds don't even read their actions as right or wrong, but as a means to an end."

"End?" Dash questioned. "What end? What the hay do they want to accomplish by hurting somepony else?"

"Usually? Revenge. And not even against their victims." I explained further. "They want revenge for themselves, for something that happened to them, maybe. So they go out and try to reverse it...or maybe try to eliminate that one little thing that reminds them of the pony or the event that, in their minds, wrecked their lives." I took a breath and sighed. "Most killers that kill mares are doin' it 'cause they have mother issues, you know?"

"So they're killing ponies that they think are the same as the ones that were bad to them..." My marefriend mused.

"Eh...something like that." I said. "One only targeted red-maned ponies. Another killed on Friday nights. That's how you can catch them. They always have a pattern."

"You're a genius." Dashie smiled.

"I know." I returned with a smug grin.

"You butt." Dash said, narrowing her eyes.

"Hey Drake!" Budder called happily, laying herself half-over the back of my seat. "Can I hang out with Echo a bit while we're in Canterlot?"

"Well...depends." I replied. "If we don't have anything pressing to worry about, yes. Unless you want to sit this case out and take a vacation for a week or two..."

"Heck no." My sister answered quickly. "Like maybe when we're done seeing the princess..."

"I know...and yes. When we're finished speaking to Princess Luna, you two can run off and hang out and do whatever. It'll probably take a while to gather all of the facts on this case, and I'll need a day or so to plan everything out."

"Thanks, bubby!" Budder exclaimed happily. "Oh, and Echo invited me to come over to her place. Is that cool?"

"Hm. I dunno..." I looked back at the seat behind me. Echo was looking back at me with a nervous smile, her amber eyes glowing slightly in the dimly lit rail-car. "Echo? You want my sister to hang out at your place a while?"

"Yeah. She's awesome!" Echo replied.

"Hm. I don't have a problem with it, I just want you to know...that's my little sister. And I dunno if she's told you how protective I am of her, but if she's with you, I expect you to look out for her like you would yourself. You understand that?"

"Yes sir." Echo stated dutifully.

"That's what I like to hear." I said with a respectful smile. "You don't wanna know what would happen if something happened to my angel." I added.

"Um...you would cut out my tongue, boil it in molasses, and force me to eat it before you unscrewed my head?" The bat pony replied matter-of-factly. "Budder already warned me...eheh..."

"Heeyup." I agreed.

"You don't have to worry, Lieutenant." Echo stated, now sounding much more mature than before. "I always look out for my friends."

"Okay then. You actually earned a few more respect points there." I said. "Heck. I may even buy you a pineapple now."

"Heehee." She giggled. I now looked back and forth between them.

"You can hang out with your new friend." I said to Budder. "But you better not teach her any bad habits."

"I won't. Promise." Echo said back.

"I wasn't talking to _you_."

We arrived at the train station just after eleven, and immediately set out for the palace. I sent Echo on ahead to inform Luna that we would be coming. She would meet up with us later, but she was a messenger after all, and she had work to do. The three of us walked along the streets of Canterlot, which were brightly lit by gas streetlights and the glow emanating from windows of high-class ponies. This part of the town, the upper-class section, was always brightly lit and well-kept. It was the lower-class section of town that would be dimly lit and dangerous this time of night. That is where the criminals would be at night. That is where our killer would be...

"Once again, we find ourselves in this town..." I commented.

"Yep..." My sister added.

"You know..." I began as we rounded a street corner and started up the wide avenue toward the palace. "In my younger, less appreciative years, I all but made a vow to the moon and the stars that I wouldn't ever see this burg again..." We walked in silence for a few moments. "And here I am back again...for the...what is this now...tenth time?"

"Dude, Drake...why do you hate Canterlot so bad?" Dash asked. "I don't think you ever really explained it...you know, in depth or whatever."

"Plutocracy." I mumbled.

"What?" Dash asked. "What's that?"

"Plutocracy...it's where the wealthy rule over the poor, where aristocrats run the show, you know?"

"Okay..."

"And I don't agree with it." I stated. "No pony should automatically be put over another just because they have a few more bits."

"So you hate the town 'cause it's full of rich ponies, and you hate rich ponies because they try to run everything..."

"Yep." I answered. "That, and to be such a big capital city, this place is kind of boring...and it can be a dump too."

"Well...if you don't like Canterlot, then leave." A snooty mare snorted, walking by.

"Oh, get a damned job." I grumbled spitefully. I sighed. "See?"

"You take everything so personally when you come to Canterlot." Dash said, rolling her eyes. I looked around.

"Huh. At least they got all the firewood cleaned up...right sis?" I said, nudging Budder. She giggled at our inside joke. "I wonder how long _that_ took 'em? Heheh."

We finally reached the main gates of the palace. It being night shift, two Night Guards stood post by the elaborate golden gate. We approached, and the sentries crossed their wicked-looking two-pronged spears. I stopped two paces from the guards.

"Lieutenant Drake. I'm here to see Princess Luna." I stated.

"Drake?" One of them repeated. He nodded to the other guard, and they immediately uncrossed their weapons. "Of course, sir. You may enter."

"Is she expecting me?" I asked curiously. The guard smirked.

"Her Royal Highness gave us specific orders to let you come and go here as you please." He answered.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes sir...to include...and this was in her orders...her...personal chambers." I felt myself start to blush, then cleared my throat. I looked back at Dashie a moment, then to the guard.

"Thank you, soldier." I said stoically, walking through the entry onto the palace grounds with Dash and Budder close behind. That was almost embarrassing. _'Well...at least now I know that Luna is all but inviting me to visit her private quarters...wait, no...that didn't sound right. Stop thinking, Drake, you're gonna get into trouble.'_

"Welcome, my dear Lieutenant Drake." Princess Luna greeted as we entered the throne room. I bowed my head lightly as I drew nearer to her.

"Milady." I returned. She gave me an annoyed look. "Luna. How have you been?" She smiled.

"I've been well, my friend..." She answered. "Well, up until recent events have begun to trouble me."

"The murders." I stated. "That is why we came here. I wanted to speak with you about that."

"So my messenger informs me." Luna said. "Which reminds me...I assume she and your sister have gotten along well?" I looked at Budder, who was grinning and shaking her head to the affirmative.

"You have no idea, Luna." I replied. The princess smiled.

"I...thought they might..." She giggled lightly. Her smile faded. "Now...about the recent incidents..." She stood and descended from the dais and stood with the three of us. "I'm sure you are puzzled as to why the deaths of several miscreants is so important."

"Yeah, actually." I agreed.

"Well normally, it would be a matter overlooked, even by local police. But in this case, it seems that the victims were not random criminals involved in altercations with other criminals, but that they were in fact targeted by an unknown pony or ponies."

"Somepony's out hunting bad ponies." I concluded.

"It indeed appears that way." Luna nodded. "At least a dozen malefactors in the last fortnight have been slain by the unknown party."

"How do you know it was a single pony or a group working together?" I asked. "What if it's random occurrences?"

"All of the victims were killed in the same manner, seemingly with the same weapon, and in similar settings."

"That...actually points to a serial killer..." I thought out loud. "Has any...non-criminals been killed during the whole thing?"

"Not one..." Luna remarked. "At least not that we know about. There have been a few killings in the past month involving innocent ponies, but their numbers have been about normal...statistically, that is."

"Uh-huh." I mused. "Once again, it looks like somepony decided to take the law into their own hooves and kill criminals. I'm not even gonna ask why the police isn't handling this." Luna scoffed and nodded.

"As always, you're the only pony with the skill to solve this mystery." The princess of the night stated.

"Alright..." I began. "I'll help. But I want you to know that I'm entering into this with a certain amount of protest. I'm not usually in the business of keeping killers from getting what they deserve."

"I understand." Luna sighed. "What do you need?" I thought for a moment.

"Can you get me maps of the areas the victims were found? As detailed as possible?"

"Of course. I can get those for you as early as tomorrow morning."

"Thanks. Oh...and I assume the EBI has been working on this?"

"Yes, Drake. For about a week now."

"Hm. I need an EBI task force assigned to the case. The best agents they can give me." Luna smiled.

"I'll put your old friend Agent Rusty Shackleford over the assignment." She said. I rolled my eyes.

"Him? Oh, alright..." I grumbled.

"You need a place to stay?" Luna asked. "Until tomorrow?"

"We would be grateful." I answered.

"'Tis nothing, really." She returned. "You may have a pair of suites in my wing of the castle. They are quite nice, decorated them on my own."

"Thank you, milady." I smiled. "Oh, is your messenger...Echo around?"

"Yes, she is about somewhere." Princess Luna said. "Moon Beam?!" She called. A bat pony guard marched up with discipline and poise.

"Yes, Your Highness." He stated, coming to full attention.

"Can you please fetch Echo?" Luna asked the sentry.

"At once, Your Highness." He responded before moving off dutifully.

"What time is she off the clock?" I asked. "Budder was wanting to...hang out with her." Luna chuckled.

"I'm the princess. My soldiers and servants are off duty whenever I tell them they are." She leaned in close. "And I am generally speaking, a little bit more...laid back...than my dear sister." I smirked, then let out a laugh.

"You called, Your Highness?" A familiar voice asked. Echo was moving toward us.

"Hey!" Budder said happily. Echo grinned and gave her a small wave, then went back to being more soldierly.

"Yes, Echo..." Luna replied. "Would you like to be relieved early tonight so that you and your new friend may take part in the merriment of...hanging out?" Echo stared at her monarch for a few moments before it dawned on her what Luna had meant. Then a smile spread across her face.

"Yes, Your Highness...I mean, if that would be okay."

"Of course it would be." The princess replied. "I assumed the two of you would get along when I sent you to deliver my message. Feel free to take some time off tonight to spend with your new friend." Echo grinned happily.

"Thanks, Princess!" She exclaimed. "Come on, Budder...you just _gotta_ see my apartment! I have the new Amnesiac game...oh, do you like mangoes? I'll make mango smoothies!" I rolled my eyes and smiled at my sister.

"Go on, angel. Get your flank back here by noon tomorrow though, okay?" I advised.

"Okay!" She answered happily. She dove onto me in a tight hug. "Thanks bubby, I love you!"

"I love you too, sis." I said, hugging her back. The two trotted out of the room, chatting incessantly as we all watched in amusement.

"Two of a kind..." I muttered.

"Indeed..." Luna agreed with a smile. "Now Drake...I want you to use every ounce of caution on this case. Something about the particulars of this mystery do not sit well with me...that is part of the reason I called you in. I am somewhat concerned about the truth behind the matter."

"Why is that?" I queried. Luna looked down with a puzzled expression.

"You know something, my dear friend..." She replied. "I cannot explain that feeling in any way that makes sense to me..." She sighed. "But the hour is late. I will have one of my guards show you to a room for the night, and I will get you all of the information you need come morning."

"Alright." I said. "I need to get some sleep anyway. Something tells me this is gonna be one ofthose assignments." I shot Luna a small smile. "Good night, milady."

"Good night, Drake." She replied. She looked at Dashie and nodded politely, then back to me. She seemed like she wanted to say more, but didn't want to because Rainbow Dash was there. She smiled. "Sweet dreams, my friend."

 _ **Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Once again, I apologize for the delay in posting it. This was a particularly long chapter, and it's hard to write when you're switching between Dayquil and Nyquil, and feel like death all day. Hope it didn't influence my writing in a negative way. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the next chapter up tonight or tomorrow afternoon. It all depends on how I feel. So hang in there. Once I make a full recovery, I'll be writing up a storm again. Till then, thanks for reading, everypony. -Drake**_


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

 _ **Hey everypony. I'm not writing as often as usual, am I? This is just one of those stories where everything seems to be getting in the way. Unlike some of the series, this volume is not written down on paper for me to transcribe. Instead, I'm writing this one from the ground up. On top of that, as I said in the last chapter, I've been terribly ill, and still had to perform my regular duties. It's a wonder I'm still cognitive enough to write my name at this point, let alone pen a story. I've noticed too, that this particular installment is getting relatively few readers. That saddens me. We're on volume 9, with four to go until the end, and it seems that nobody is interested in this series anymore, save for two or three people who have followed from volume one. I suppose the level of reader apathy is getting to me a bit too. I'm going to try to get the entire series finished before Thanksgiving, and work on some of my other material. So let's get on with the story at hoof. I hope you all enjoy. Please review.**_

"So what we're looking at basically is a killer with no obvious connection to his victims or most of the areas he hunts in. He has no job, no family, and has what looks like unlimited free time to travel around and dedicate himself to his game..." I commented, looking down at the maps on the table. It was after noon, and in the sitting room we had turned into a briefing room was myself, Rainbow Dash and Budder, as well as Rusty Shackleford and Princess Luna, who was up way past her normal bed time, and kept yawning discretely.

"I would ask how you know they don't have a job..." Shackleford began. "But knowing you, I'm just going to agree with it." I grinned at the EBI agent.

"Welllll...since you forced it out of me, Rusty..." I said. Shackleford rolled his eyes as I started to explain my theory. "A week and a half ago, three bodies were found in one night. All in different locations around Baltimare. Just walking from one location to the next to the next...that would take about three hours if I'm not mistaken. Add to that the time our hunter laid in wait for his victims, and the time it took to perform the actual killing, and you have a pony who is at it all night long. A few days ago, two criminals were found dead in Manehattan. Any pony that has a job during the day, or has a family to take care of isn't gonna have the time to run around all night offing murderers and thieves."

"Right..." Shackleford agreed.

"No, what we're looking for is a pony with no job, no family or friends...a loner with psych problems that's been a victim of some crime in the past." I continued. "And what's gonna make it hard on us is that they move from place to place. This guy's not happy killing every dirtbag in his own hometown. No, I think he has it in mind to get rid of every criminal in the country."

"How do you know it's a dude?" Dashie asked. I locked eyes with her. "Is it because...like...these were all tough and violent bad ponies..." ' _That's it, love...work it out...'_ "And it would take somebody really strong and stuff to jump 'em?"

"Yep..." I answered, pressing her for more.

"Um...and stallions are usually more likely to be serial killers than mares anyway?"

"You nailed it." I stated.

"What if it's not a single pony, but a group? Like a vigilante party?" Shackleford asked.

"Nah." I returned. "It's one killer. Look at the method he uses. This one murderer was found completely disemboweled. In this other case..." I said, picking up a report to quote it better. "Two muggers were found dead together. One was stabbed seventeen times in the torso, and the other was stabbed eight times and decapitated. These were a couple of big old shit-kicking stallions too. The killer uses knives, and knows how to use them well. It takes a...special kind of pony to carve somepony up like leftovers."

"How are they living?" My sister asked. "Like...buying food and stuff?"

"My guess is that the killer is...liberating money and other supplies from the bodies of his victims." I stated. "According to the reports here, none of them were carrying bits, jewelry, weapons or anything of the sort when they were found. Heh. I guess the good thing about robbing thieves is that they always have money on 'em..."

"So this pony is killing every criminal they can in one town, and moving on to the next, living off of what they can steal." Dashie said, simplifying our discussion.

"Yep." I said. "They're making their living off of killing these ponies. I guess it's sort of become their job and their hobby all rolled into one. This is a new one for sure."

"Hm...I am curious...how do you want to go about conducting this investigation, Drake?" Luna asked.

"Well milady, This hunter of ponies works an area for a few days before moving on to greener pastures." I said. "The first few killings were in Fillydelphia. After a week and a half, they started up in Baltimare. Now, we have killings in Manehattan. They're hitting all of the major population centers where criminals like to congregate. The only way we're gonna solve this one is to try and predict where the killer is gonna go next, and head 'em off at the pass."

"We'll set up a dragnet in the lower-class part of whatever city the killer is active in, EBI and local authorities coordinating and working in tandem." Agent Shackleford explained, pointing at the map with authority as I gave him an amused look. "Officers on every street if possible. Lieutenant Drake is right. With enough hooves on the ground, the killer will eventually make a mistake. When he does, we'll catch him." Shackleford noticed my expression. "What?"

"Rusty, you paraphrased me poorly there." I sighed, rubbing my mane. "Our killer kills killers. He hunts criminals. What's the best way to scare off criminals?"

"Send you in with your sword?" Shackleford answered dryly. Budder and Luna both giggled.

"Okay, I'll rephrase that." I said. "What's gonna happen if we have cops on every street corner? All the crooks are gonna go into hiding. It'll just make it harder to catch the killer."

"So what are you proposing?" The EBI special agent queried.

"We'll go undercover as usual." I replied. "I might be able to get a step ahead of the killer, and hunt the hunter." I sighed. "Though I don't really look forward to facing 'em down. I hate getting' into knife fights...anyway, I'll follow the trail of blood to the killer's door, and then we'll all swoop in on them. You can have the arrest on this one, Rusty. I don't want it getting out that I'm protecting bad ponies."

"Alright..." Shackleford said back. "But what do me and my agents do until then?"

"Glad you asked." I responded. "I need you guys digging up some information. Like I said, we're after somepony who's been a victim. Find me some possibilities. Look up all the murders, rapes and violent robberies that happened in the last couple months before the killings started, alright?"

"That's going to be quite the list, Drake..."

"I know, but we can whittle it down. Start with violent crimes that happened where the killings started...Fillydelphia. Start there, and see what you come up with. If we can find a name, it might help us solve this thing before too many more criminals end up in the morgue."

"So where do we go first?" Dash inquired.

"Well, the killing started in Filly...then moved to Baltimare after a while, then to Manehattan. If I'm right, the killer should be in Manehattan for a few more days, then move on to either here in Canterlot, or another large city. They've been exclusive to eastern cities so far, so my guess is that they won't be jumping over to Las Pegasus and Applewood just yet...if they ever do." I looked at the map a moment. "We'll go to Manehattan, and see what we can uncover. Rusty, you and your team hightail it to Fillydelphia and get me that list of violent crimes. If the killings start here in Canterlot, milady...we'll be here immediately."

"I knew I could put my faith in you, Drake." Luna smiled. She glanced at Shackleford and cleared her throat. "Indeed. With your history of solving some of the most baffling cases in the land, I am confident that you are the right detective for the job." I shot her a small smile. ' _Nice save, Luna_.'

"Thank you for your sentiments, Your Highness." I said. "Now, with your leave, I'd like to get started today."

"Of course." Luna nodded.

"We should be able to make it to Manehattan by nightfall and start digging around. Rusty, I know I'm the team leader here, but I don't wanna cramp your style." I gave him a grin, and he returned a sardonic smirk. "You take your team tonight and head to Filly. Do what you need to. If I need you, I'll send for you."

"On it." He said with a nod. He gave us all a final look, then nodded again and walked out of the room. Once the EBI agent was gone, Luna relaxed a little bit. She let out a sigh.

"I need sleep." She muttered. "I am not accustomed to staying up to such awful hours of the day." I chuckled.

"Get some rest, Luna. We're on the job."

"If you need anything...anything at all, contact me at once." The princess advised.

"Will do." I said solemnly. "Oh, before I forget..."

"Expenses?" Princess Luna interjected with a grin. "You are without a doubt the most expensive detective in history, Drake." I laughed, and Luna herself giggled.

"You pay for quality, milady." I stated with a shrug.

"Indeed I do." She returned warmly. Her horn emitted a blue glow as two large satchels of bits floated onto the table. "This should be sufficient. Manehattan is rather expensive however, so if you need more, all you must do is ask."

"I'm grateful as always." I said to the princess of the night. She smiled.

"As am I, my dearest friend." She returned. "Do be careful...all three of you..."

"We will." I replied. "I'll be in touch, Luna." She bowed her head gracefully, and the three of us walked out of the room, ready to begin our new assignment.

 _ **This one was a bit shorter than I'd anticipated, but was a necessary scene. At least we have a little more backstory on the murders. Any of you have theories or ideas yet? Or is that better left to Drake and his detective skills? The trio will be getting to Manehattan and starting their investigation in the next chapter. I will try to get the next chapter written and posted sometime tonight, or tomorrow afternoon. Until then, thanks for reading, everypony.**_


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

 _ **Hello again, everypony. Amazingly, I was able to get this chapter written in two days. Took me long enough to do it, and I must confess that with this story being so different from most of the others, it's proving to be a little nerve-wracking trying to get the...flavor of it just right, if you know what I mean. I know that this story is a little slow in getting to the action, but it's all about the suspense. Enjoy it. Once it gets to the good parts, you won't regret following the plot. So I'll leave you to that. Enjoy, loyal readers, and please review.**_

Once we had made it to Manehattan, we rented a room at a motel near the bad side of town. These just-off-the-road motel affairs are usually on the shady side of questionable anyway, but I have to write about our experience in the Hayshed Inn. The matron who rented us a room was a middle-aged mare who had curlers in her mane, and I couldn't help but notice the iron crowbar leaned up next to the counter. We procured a basic two-bed room, and quickly went to deposit our stuff and get to work on the case.

Upon entering our small room, I noticed several small things. First off, there was a smell that I could not identify, coming from a place that I could not pinpoint. It turned out to be the air conditioner. Next, the floor felt strange beneath my hooves. So strange in fact, that I had to investigate why. Fortunately, the carpet was already starting to peel back in one corner...no doubt a well-thought-out amenity for my convenience. When I pulled back the thin carpet, I found that the entire motel was built on a solid concrete slab, and the carpet of the rooms must have been glued directly to the cement as an afterthought. They could have at least picked a better color than burnt sienna for the carpet. The large, bleached-out white spot in the center of the room added a decorative touch though.

One of the two beds looked as though it had been broken, and then repaired badly, and the poor piece of furniture listed slightly to one side like it had gone lame. I inspected the other thoroughly just to make sure I should let my little sister sleep on it. The coup de grace for me though was not any of this, nor was it the painting above the table between the beds of what was either a church or a bordello, but the fact that there was a hole, about the size of a grapefruit, in the bathroom wall. It looked like somepony had driven a hoof through the wall either from inside the bathroom, or from the room into the bathroom, and was shaped and sized perfectly for carrying on a conversation with whoever was in the latrine.

After dropping off our bags, we left the room, and began our walk into the less family-appropriate part of the city. We all three wore black, and I wore a long black duster coat over my saber belt. Along with my trusty light cavalry saber, I also carried a heavy, long-bladed bowie knife. If the killer was a real knife guy, I'd have to use my own skills with a sharp blade no doubt. Dashie carried two daggers in sheaths strapped to her hind legs, and even my sister carried a trench knife, a heavy, solid brass handle with a hoof guard, outfitted with a six-inch steel spike. No doubt she had a folding knife or two clipped on her somewhere too. Even with all of our weapons we carried, I was uneasy. I still felt a little less armed than I'd like to have been.

We walked down the dark sidewalks of Manehattan's Southside. Just in between the cosmopolitan city center and the industrial and shipping areas at the far south end of the city was a tract of some ten city blocks by ten blocks made up of low-income housing, low-rent apartments, pawn shops and a mix of ponies who were both down on their luck types, and more than a few who were up to no good. It was here that the bodies had been found, and here that we started our hunt. We began at the alley where one of the victims, a stallion wanted for theft and murder was found. The ruffian had been found by a garbage collector, laying next to a dumpster with most of his insides on his outsides. The area was still cordoned off with yellow police tape.

"This guy was found here..." I muttered, trying to piece together the criminal's last few moments. "I don't really doubt he was in this alley when he got attacked." I looked at the dark red stains on the wall above where his corpse had been. "Arterial spray..."

"What's that?" Dashie asked.

"Your arteries are pressurized with blood, like a garden hose." I stated. "Somepony goes hack and slash on you, and hits a major artery, blood's gonna spray out. Anywhere else, like a body shot, and it's gonna pour or ooze, and puddle on the ground." I scanned the blood pattern on the wall, and then the large red spot on the concrete below. "The first strike was a kill shot, I do think..." I scoffed. "The rest was just gratuitous violence." A question entered my mind. I started to talk out my thoughts.

"Why? If the killer surprised this stallion and slit his throat quick and clean like...he would've bled out in twenty seconds. Why did they take the time to turn him inside out?"

"They were mad?" Budder offered.

"Mad...madder'n a hatter and angry to boot." I replied. "You're on the right track there, sis. Pure passion. Most killers would have been happy just putting their victim down...maybe stopping to get a trophy. This one..." I looked at the blood stains. "He enjoyed it...he wanted to mangle the pony. This killer hates criminals with a passion." I looked around. "Come on."

We moved on to the next murder scene, keeping as low a profile as possible, and staying in the shadows whenever we could. We came to a low, single-story dwelling. It was made of concrete blocks, and had bars on the windows. The small patch of grass in the front of the house was overgrown. This was the scene of the second murder. We pushed under the yellow tape across the open doorway, and I noticed that the knob on the door was destroyed, as if somepony had hit the door full-force from the outside. I mentally noted this fact and moved on inside the structure.

We stood in the room, all three of us holding small oil lanterns. The spot where the second victim was found was the small living room of the house. There was a large dark red stain on the wooden floor where the pony had been laying. I examined the spot, then looked around at the walls. I walked from the living room to the next room, the kitchen. After a quick examination of the kitchen, I walked into the two small bedrooms of the house, scanning them for any useful bits of evidence. Finally painting myself a nice mental picture, I walked back into the living room where Dash and Budder still stood by the bloodstain on the floor.

"Power...that's what the killer wants...power over these lowlives. That's the only explanation I can come up with." I said, feeling a degree of frustration.

"Why?" Dashie asked. "What's wrong?"

"The victim was in his bedroom. There's a shitload of medicine bottles in there. There's meds that belong to at least a half a dozen ponies. This guys was a piece of garbage drug dealer, but that's beside the point. The killer busted the lock, came right on in, walked in on this dealer, and jacked him two or three times in the body with a knife or a dagger. Blood trail." I pointed along the floor from the bedroom door, down the short hall into the living room.

"He was crawling along, prolly tryin' to get away from his attacker. Killer follows, takes his sweet time, then RAH! Stabs him a few more times. Then...here's the fun part..." I looked around the room, and spotted a ratty old sofa nearby. I lay my head on the floor and looked underneath. Sure enough, I saw a medicine bottle, the lid missing. I pulled it out and held it up, reading the label with my lantern. "Laudanum...The killer dumped a pharmacy's worth of meds down this pony's gullet. Tox report said he had lethal doses of five different compounds in his stomach, but not in his bloodstream. No, the killer didn't wait for an O.D. He made his victim take all of his own product, then performed open-heart surgery while he was still breathing."

"Geez bub..." Budder groaned. "That's pretty freakin' messed up...even for me."

"Scary, right?" I shot back cynically. "Aside from this bottle here, the killer replaced all of them after the act. Seems that he has a sense of order." I was quiet a moment, and thought deeply about all of the evidence here. I had easily found the how, but I still lacked a definite why or who, and even this early on in the investigation, it was driving me crazy. I had a pile of stuff to process if I was going to get inside this killer's head.

After leaving the house, we moved further into the neighborhood until we came to a six-story apartment. We climbed the fire escape ladder to the roof of the apartment. From the top of the tallest building on the block, we had a bird's eye view of the surrounding area. From our perch, we could look down into several alleys. As I moved to the edge of the building and looked out over the small part of the city, I felt like a bird of prey, scanning a grassy plain for a rabbit.

"This is his hunting ground..." I muttered. "Somewhere down there is our killer, guys." I gazed down into the shadows of the darkened streets and alleyways. "What are you gonna do tonight?" I whispered. I stared long and intently from the top of the building down into the alleys where I was certain the killer was lurking.

"Drake? Drake?" Dashie asked softly, shaking me from my reverie as she moved up beside me. "Are you okay?" I exhaled and gently kicked a small pebble from the rooftop.

"Yes." I whispered. "No...I dunno."

"What is it, Bubby?" My sister asked, joining us.

"Nothing, angel..." I replied. "I just hate serial killers."

"Oh." Budder said. "Why?" I tensed up a little at her question. I looked at Rainbow Dash.

"You think..." I began. "I mean..." Dash nodded lightly.

"She's old enough..." My marefriend replied. "And...I mean, she's on a murder investigation, right?" I scoffed.

"Can you...handle it?" I asked. She took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Can _you_?"

"Um...what's goin' on?" Budder asked nervously.

"Angel...sit down here. We wanna tell you something." My sister sat down between us, and looked back and forth between me and Rainbow Dash curiously. "You know how Rainbow used to be a pegasus, right?"

"Yeah?" Budder replied. "You guys said that something bad happened."

"Yeah..." Dashie mused.

"It was a couple years back..." I began. "Right after I got out of the regular cavalry. I was...I was still pretty screwed up over what happened at Fort Mesquite, you know?" Budder nodded sympathetically. "Princess Celestia assigned me to investigate a case in Ponyville." I looked into my sister's eyes a moment. "It was a serial killer case. When I got there, Dashie here was the first pony I met. We uh...eheh...we got under each other's skin so bad, you remember that?"

"Heh...yeah..." Dashie thought. "We couldn't stand each other at first. I thought Drake was a stuffy, stubborn old smart-aleck."

"And I thought Rainbow Dash was a cocky, self-absorbed cloud jockey." I countered. We smiled at each other.

"Heehee." Budder giggled.

"Well," I continued. "Dashie took it on herself to be my guide and show me around town. We kind of grew on each other. She was...she was the first pony I really opened up to about what had happened to me in the war, you know?" I felt deeply emotional. "I still owe her for that...anyway, I uh...I cracked the case. It all came together for me, and I started suspecting one of the residents of Ponyville was the murderer. I went to their house to question them..." I stared off into the night sky, unsure how to continue.

"It was one of my best friends." Dash said, her voice breaking. "I had known her for years, but...she knocked me out and was gonna..."

"Dash..." I interjected. "The killer was...in the process when I got there. I saved Dashie, but..."

"She cut off your wings?" Budder whimpered, looking at Rainbow Dash, her blue-gray eyes filled with tears. Rainbow Dash nodded.

"And uh...and my cutie marks." Dashie added solemnly. Budder grabbed Dash in a tight hug.

"I'm glad Drake saved you." My sister whispered. Dash hugged her, and I heard my marefriend sniff. Time to change the subject a bit.

"I've worked on a bunch of murder cases since then," I said. "and it's a damned good thing serial killers are so rare. I hate the idea."

"I...I see why..." Budder commented.

"After all that, if this psycho was killing innocent ponies...I honestly think I'd take it personally." I grumbled. I pulled a pocketwatch from the small bag hanging on my belt. "Hm. One in the morning already. Time flies, huh?" I sighed. "Let's start heading back. We can lurk around on the way. Come on guys, it's getting late...or early..." We climbed down off of the apartment building and slowly and covertly moved through the dark streets. At one point on our journey through the shadows, I stopped. We were halfway down an alley, where the narrow passage split into a four way intersection. Something didn't feel right. I looked to my right, down one of the dark alleyways, then to my left, down the other.

"Drake...what is it?" Dash whispered, looking around. My sister moved close to me, and stuck a hoof inside her black cloak. I clasped a hoof onto hers and shook my head slowly. She brought her hoof back down.

"I feel...almost like we're bein' watched." I whispered. It was a strange feeling, not the usual feeling of being observed, but be damned, it was almost like somepony was reading my thoughts, if that even makes sense. There was the most unsettling, almost paranormal feeling to that spot in the alley, that I decided to get out with my family at a much faster pace than we'd entered. Once we made it out onto the street, the feeling was gone.

"Did you feel that?" Budder asked. I locked eyes with my sister. "You felt it too, didn't you?"

"What was it?" I questioned.

"I think that alley back there's haunted or something." Budder answered.

"Why?" I insisted. She just stared at me a moment, and shrugged.

"That was the feeling I get when a ghost is around, you know?" She replied. I looked back at the alley one more time, searching for a dark figure shrouded in the shadows. Seeing none, I decided to call it a night.

"Come on, let's get back to our room."

 _ **So ends chapter four. The story is beginning to get darker and darker, no? What did you all think? Questions? Comments? I will attempt to have chapter five up as quickly as I can. No specific ETA on it, though I will more than likely have it up in the next day or two. Until then, my loyal readers, please send me your reviews. Thank you all for reading. -Drake**_


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

 _ **I know...I know, everypony. It's been something like five days since I last posted a chapter. I apologize. It's been hectic lately, and I haven't had the downtime I need to get into the groove of writing. What little free time I have, I find myself in a bit of a creative slump anymore...void of all resembling ambition. But I've managed to piece together another chapter for your reading enjoyment. I hope you all find this chapter acceptable. This story has a slightly different air than most of the others. It's a little darker...and has much blood, especially this chapter. Warning: contains somewhat graphic depictions of death. Do enjoy, and please review.**_

I sat at the small table by the window of our motel room, a pile of papers spread out before me. They were copies of police reports dealing with a few of the murders and their victims. It was two in the afternoon, and over a cup of coffee and a few hours' sleep, I was at least beginning to piece together my own little profile of the serial killer. I needed more information, more evidence, more time. The only problem was that in giving the killer more time, I would be allowing him to make more corpses. This was a great trap on a murder investigation like this...you're waiting for the murderer to act again so you can catch them, but that means the killer strikes again.

"Find anything out yet?" Dashie asked, placing a new cup of sweetened coffee in front of me. Budder looked up from where she was laying on her bed, drawing. I looked up and sighed. For some reason, I had been feeling tired all day.

"You know I have..." I grinned. "I'm just the awesome sauce like that."

"Heh. Who do ya think you are, me?" Dash returned with a smile.

"The killer wanted to get rid of the drugs." I muttered.

"Whaddya mean?" Dashie asked curiously. I took a long drink from my coffee. I felt a pressure in my chest, like you get when you have indigestion. I swallowed the coffee and closed my eyes. ' _Not here. Not another pain...not while my sister is watching...'_ I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Mm...he dumped all the dealer's meds down his throat before he offed the guy." I explained. "Ugh...can you get me an aspirin from my bag? Got a headache." I lied. Dashie stared at me a moment, no doubt seeing right through my ruse, but she wasn't willing to say anything in front of Budder either. She sighed, and moved across the room, retrieving a small white pill from the bottle in my bag. My marefriend sat the aspirin on the table, and I quickly swallowed it, chasing it with another drink of coffee. My chest was hurting, and my head felt a little light, but I gritted it the best I could.

"Drake?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Eh...where was I? Oh yeah, there was no good reason to force feed the stallion all those drugs. It sure as Hell wasn't to cover up the crime. No, it was for one of two reasons...to either teach him a lesson by making him take his own product, or it was the killer's way of getting rid of the meds with the dealer. For some reason...ugh...I think it's the latter." I took another deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Why?" My sister asked.

"A hunch..." I answered. I crossed my forelegs on the table, and lay my head on them, mostly to help with the passing ache in my chest that had spread partially to my left foreleg. "I think our killer believes he's a cleaner. I've been going over these reports from all of the murders. There's a kind of symbolism to some of the killings...look at this one, the killer burned the victim's house after the murder. The vic was running a Five and Dime for stolen merch. And this one...the victim was wanted for foal mol..." I looked at Budder. "Um...for hurting foals. Our Senor Serial Slasher um...apparently unmasted his frigate..."

"Ew..." Dash remarked.

"Yeah...perimortem too. Never found it..." I added.

"Huh?" Budder asked, thankfully not understanding the conversation.

"Nothin', angel." I replied, looking up. "The killer worked a number on him, that's all."

"What about the other murders?" Dash asked. I was fortunately feeling a little better now. It was passing like they always did.

"I think his actions when he kills have a lot to do with how bad his victim was..." I stated. Some of the ponies killed were just killed outright. Others were mutilated. I think the idea of crime offends the killer." I narrowed my eyes and thought about that for a moment. "The killer is driven to...respond to their level of evil...the worse the criminal, the worse the attack..." Something clicked. "Yep...they're after a purging...they want to balance the evil...to cleanse it using violence, sort of like the whole fighting fire with fire thing."

"He thinks he's doing good." Budder said. "Right?"

"I dunno." I said. "More than likely." I took another drink of my coffee, and picked up one of the files. "The first murder...it was different. I think he's evolved a sense of order since then."

"What was the first murder?" Dash asked.

"A stallion and a mare under investigation for the death of one of their kids. According to the report, they were both repeat losers in trouble with the law for drugs, theft, and a bunch of other stuff. The daughter turned up missing, and the parents were suspects. They were found dead." Something about the first reported killing didn't sit right with me. The killing wasn't in line with the rest for some reason. I was interrupted by a knock at the door. I shot my family a questioning glance as I walked to the door of our room and eyed the saber leaned up next to the doorframe. I turned the knob and opened the door to see a dark blue stallion in a police pony's blue shirt, black tie and badge. His mirrored sunglasses betrayed no expression, only reflecting my own curious look back at me.

"Lieutenant Drake?" The officer asked.

"Yes, officer?"

"You're working on the slayings, right?" He queried.

"Yes I am." I stated.

"Sergeant Pit, Lieutenant. I was told to come see you about this...we have a problem." The police pony said. I cocked my head to the side. Something was definitely up.

"A problem? What kind of problem?" I pressed.

"There's been two more murders." Was the answer. "Last night." I looked down and sighed.

"I thought that would happen." I admitted. The officer grunted.

"One of them was a police officer." He stated. "You probably want to come with me to see the scene of the crime." I nodded.

"Come on guys. Oh...and grab my bag, angel." I said. "This turd of a case just got twisted up in knots..."

…...

The criminal was laying in a pool of blood, leaned up against the wall of the building like he was taking a nap. I pushed through the police and the reporters standing in the alleyway, and stood before the victim a moment, taking mental stock of everything...every little bit of information. The blood spatters on the wall, the marks on the cement ground made by a heavy body being moved, leaving smears of red, it all told a story. The officer who had led us to the scene had been talking to another pony, a light brown stallion in a tie and leather blazer. The two of them walked over to where I stood.

"Detective Greenbeans," He greeted. "I'm guessing you're this Drake fella that's supposed to be over the serial killer investigation." He didn't sound too enthused about an outsider. I nodded.

"Lieutenant Drake." I answered. "What have we got?"

"Well Lieutenant...come here." Greenbeans stated. I followed him to the other side of the dumpster, to where another pony lay dead. The second victim was a dark brown stallion with a black mane. He was wearing a dark blue shirt with a black tie, indicative of the fact that he had been a police officer before his untimely demise. The only strange thing about this murder was everything. For one, the police pony's eyes had been gouged out, his ears had been cut off, and his tongue was laying nearby, circled with chalk and marked with a numbered placard. Next, his badge was missing. I walked closer to the body, and examined it myself. The cause of death was apparent to me. There was a deep penetration wound in the top of the skull, so neat that it looked like somepony had stabbed a watermelon with a screwdriver. I looked back at the local authorities.

"Any witnesses?" I asked. "Any leads to go off of?"

"No wits." The detective replied. "And goin off of the evidence here, I have a theory."

"Really?" I asked, somewhat amused.

"Yeah, it's not the killer." Detective Greenbeans continued. "See how clean the kills were this time?

There wasn't guts and brains all over the fuckin' place." I sighed and kicked at a soda can with my right forehoof as the detective kept it up. "And you see this shit here? The killer ain't never killed a cop before. That's proof enough that it ain't him, don't you think? It's probably...a copycat."

"Interesting theory." I said. "So, what happened here?"

"Alright, so this guy's out to kill, right? He's just waitin' in this fuckin' alley for some dumb schmuck to wander past. So what's he get? This fuckin' low-level lowlife here comes strollin' in, right? He's a badass and he knows it. He ain't watchin' his back. Killer comes out the shadows and shanks 'im in the fuckin neck, then puts a blade through his heart. Leans him up against the wall. Then poor old officer Collar hears a commotion and comes to investigate. The killer jumps down off this fuckin' dumpster here and WHAM, gives him a fuckin' lobotomy." I looked back at Dash and Budder, who were standing on the outside of the circle of police ponies watching. I shook my head and gave them a small grin.

"Okay, why is his badge gone?" I asked. Greenbeans looked down at the dead officer as if he'd just noticed the police pony's badge was missing.

"Killer took it. He's probably gonna use it to impersonate a cop to pull off another murder." I nodded lightly.

"Good theory. Now how about this one..." I began. The detective stared at me cynically. "The type of wound on these two victims is identical to the ones on all of the others. Killer was using the same knife, or at least a similar one. Secondly, you see a sign of struggle here? None. Same as in all of the other murders. The killer is good. He takes out his victims like an expert. Posing of the bodies, and an almost ritual feeling to all of this. It IS the killer, detective."

"Alright, so maybe it is...Lieutenant," Greenbeans remarked. "But why'd the killer take the fuckin' badge?" I broke eye contact and moved closer to the dead cop's body. Something about this was all wrong. The murderer didn't kill innocent ponies. He only targeted criminals. So why did he break his most important and identifying routine? And why did he remove the eyes, ears and tongue?

"Damnit..." I growled. "What you have here is a dirty cop!" I announced.

"How the Hell you know that?" Detective Greenbeans pressed angrily, moving toward me confrontationally.

"Because the killer only kills criminals." I stated, staring down the detective. "You wanna know why the killer did... _this_?" I motioned to the tongue on the ground."

"Why?"

"See no evil, hear no evil... _speak_ no evil. Everything this serial killer does has a meaning. It's all symbolic. The only reason this officer was here is because he was meeting with this other stallion for some purpose other than to arrest him, and they both ran afoul of our killer."

"Alright, I heard you're supposed to be smart...I'll bite." He returned. "What about the badge?" I looked around a few moments.

"Be right back." I said. I climbed up onto the dumpster and dove inside. I carefully moved around a couple of boxes and small pieces of rubbish. Finally, I saw something shiny and metallic. With a confident smile on my face, I popped up out of the trash receptacle, holding up the item. "Found it!" I announced. "The killer threw the badge in the garbage."

"Huh." Greenbeans mused. "Well...what's the symbology of that?"

"Ughhh..." I groaned. I jumped down from the rim of the dumpster, and tossed the badge to Greenbeans. "The killer was saying that he wasn't a real cop. That's the only... _symbolism_ in the act." I thought for a moment. "Even thought that was a little...juvenile for the killer..."

"What do we do?" Detective Greenbeans asked.

"Do some research on the dead officer." I advised. "And find out what kind of connection he had to the other victim." I knew it was busy work, and no real bearing on the case. I just wanted to give the local police something constructive to do. I had a lot of thinking to do. This killer just made me rethink my psych profile and my theories.

 _ **Okay, so if none of you were able catch the cameo here, Detective Greenbeans is the pony version of Detective Greenly from The Boondock Saints, profanity and all. Heheh. What did you all think of the latest killing? Drake has his work cut out for him, eh? The case is still getting deeper, and I'm sure you're all wondering at what point is the action going to pick up...well, I don't want to give too much away, but I promise something big will happen in the next couple chapters. As for when the next chapter is going to be, I can promise that I will be able to write it, revise it and get it posted sometime in the next two or three days. Maybe as early as tomorrow, so keep checking back. Please leave some reviews. When writing, I thrive on interaction with my readers. Until next chapter, everypony...thanks for reading! -Drake**_


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

 _ **Hey everypony. I'm back with chapter six, and it didn't take me a week to get it written this time. In fact, I'm a bit late in posting only because I finished it at midnight last night, but didn't want to post it so late. I held off so that I could get it on site at a time my loyal readers would be anticipating it. I have promised we would be getting to a big event in the story soon, and true to my word, it will probably be in the next chapter. In this chapter, Drake realizes something about the killer, and about himself. So with that, I'll leave you to read, hopefully enjoy, and please review.**_

By the next afternoon, I was no closer to painting a clear picture of the killer than I had been the day before. It wasn't for a lack of physical evidence...the murderer had left plenty of evidence, along with their grotesque calling card of personalizing their slayings. A profile is a lot like a painting...it's something that starts with a vague idea, and is slowly built upon with each new piece of evidence. Each move on the mysterious criminal's part adds stroke upon stroke to the canvas, until ultimately you have a picture of who he probably is, where he's likely to live, even how old he is and what he does for a living. In the case of my quarry, this killer-of-killers I was hunting, he broke the mold of serial killers, and it was becoming frustrating.

I was laying on mine and Dash's bed in our unspeakably bad little motel room, going over all of the information I had for the four hundred thousandth damned time. And yes, the motel room was really that bad. Our ice bucket had a hole in it, the shower curtain was clear as glass, and I had almost barged into the room next to ours the night before just to ascertain whether the stallion and mare lodging in the there were involved in coitus, or if there was a grizzly double homicide being committed in the room. Just another distraction to keep me from finding the serial killer and solving this case.

So far, I had figured that this killer was probably a stallion, probably between the age of eighteen and thirty, unemployed and a drifter. His appearance in different cities so quickly between murders proved that he either rode the rails, or he was a pegasus. He was good with knives, and exceptionally fit. This meant the he probably kept himself trained for the kill. This pony had probably built himself into a hunter, dedicating his life to killing criminals. I also guessed that he was possibly darker in color, or wore dark clothing to help him blend in with the night. Aside from these theories, I still had nothing to go off of. He left no physical evidence other than corpses, and there were no witnesses in any of the killings.

"How's it going?" Dashie asked me, sitting down beside me on the bed.

"Horrible." I returned with a sigh. "When the killer doesn't know his victims, and doesn't hunt in his own backyard, it's almost impossible to track them."

"But...you can, right bub?" My sister asked from the bed next to mine.

"I don't know." I confessed. "Most serial killers get caught because they hunt in a pattern. They have their own little area they stick to. This guy...you never know which town he's gonna pop up in next. By the time you figure out he's in Townsburg and start an investigation, he's in Cityville offing badponies."

"Cityville?" Budder asked, confused.

"Turn of phrase." I answered with a shrug.

"So you don't know if you can catch him?" Dash asked.

"I can try." I stated. "And if Shackleford ever gets back from Filly, he might have some useful little tidbits I can use. He's a decent detective when it comes to doing things by the book. I might luck into something."

"This case is really getting' to you, ain't it?" Dash said softly. She leaned in and started massaging my shoulders. I relaxed a little and closed my eyes.

"Yeah...it is..." I muttered. "It's hard on a tracker to not be able to find sign..." I complained. "This case is just...ugh..."

"I know, Drake." Dash said, rubbing my back. "I totally get it, man. Just chillax and wait. You'll probably hear from Shackleford in a day or two, right?"

"Yeah...prob'ly..." I grumbled. I suddenly perked up. "Wait...did you just tell me to...chillax?"

"Heheh." She chuckled. "Yes Drake. I told you to increase your level of chillaxification." I smiled. "And that's a direct order or whatever." I couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, alright then. I guess I'd better chillax, seeing as it's an official order from a superior officer..." I said mockingly, a little grin playing across my face. I looked back at my marefriend, who narrowed her magenta eyes.

"I'm a mare. That means I'm immediately your superior officer." She returned.

"Jawohl, mein frau." I shot back.

"Since when you speak Germane?" Budder asked. I simply shrugged.

"Ich weiss nicht?" I answered innocently.

"I like Prench better..." My sister commented dryly.

"Merci beaucoup." I said happily.

"Ughhhh..." Budder groaned, faceplanting on her bed. In times like this, my family was the biggest aid to me. They kept me from getting too involved in my work and driving myself crazy. They were right. I'd hit a wall in the investigation, and I needed to relax until something new came my way. _Okay Drake...concentrate on what you have, and put those skills of yours to good use._

"Okay, what is it, about three?" I asked. Dashie rolled off of the bed and checked the pocketwatch laying on the small table.

"Yep. Three twenty."

"Let's get out of this stinking room and get something to eat." I offered. "Ass around until nightfall, then stakeout the slums again. Maybe I'll find somepony walking around in black carrying a knife and ask a few questions. Maybe I'll get lucky."

"You said it yourself...when's the last time a crook walked up to ya and said 'Hey man, I'm a criminal. Bust me.'" Rainbow Dash reminded me.

"Hey, it could happen." I shot back. "Now let's get some burgers and wander around the bad side of town after dark." I said.

"This is the only family...ever...where we would be saying that." My sister commented.

"Well, we ain't a normal family." I returned, getting up. I walked over to Budder. "Like you're a normal little filly anyway." I added, messing up her mane with a hoof, and making her giggle.

...

We returned to the motel a little after one in the morning. There had been nothing to see except the normal sights of a city at night. The only lead we had was when I decided to do some undercover work. I told Dash and Budder to hang back near an abandoned warehouse, and I alone walked down the streets until I found a couple of suspicious-looking stallions hanging around an alley. As I approached them, the two eyed me with mistrust, and by the time I'd reached them, one already had a dagger in his hoof.

"Hey Mack." I greeted. "Name's Filch. I got some gold, and I'm looking for somepony that's got a line on a crossbow."

"You're barkin' up the wrong tree, pal." The stallion with the knife stated. "Nothing goin' on here. We're just chillin." The two looked around like they were expecting bad company. They were definitely spooked. I played off of this.

"Come on man...do I look like five-oh?" I said in an exasperated tone. "What's the deal in this town...nopony can help me out tonight." The other stallion scoffed, and leaned in close.

"Ain't you heard? Don't you get da papers?" He began. "Just about everything in this town's dried up. Shut down. Nopony's conducting business right now, capisce?"

"Heat's on?" I asked, pretending to be a little nervous.

"Cops? Naw. Can't believe you ain't heard. It's...IT."

"It?" I asked.

"It, pal...it." He repeated. "It's been all over Filly and Baltimare, and now it's here."

"What's... _it_?" I asked. The two stallions looked at one another a moment. The one with the dagger stepped up to me.

"Word on the street is that it's some kind of monster, alright? It creeps around in the shadows and kills dealers and pickpockets and shit. Nopony's ever seen it, but they say it crawled out of Hades...like some...demon or somethin'."

"Come on..." I scoffed with a slight smile. "Monsters?"

"You think I'm kiddin'?" The storyteller replied. "It's already killed twenty or thirty ponies. Now it's here, and everypony's gonna be mindin' their damned P's and Q's and sayin' please and thank you till further notice!"

"Alright..." I said. "Thanks anyway." I turned and walked away.

Back in the motel room, I lay down on the bed, the incident still running through my mind. This killer had scared every criminal in Manehattan straight. They all believed some demon had come for lawbreakers, and given the bloodthirsty rampage of this killer, they had every right to think so. This entire case was becoming dark and convoluted. If the murderer kept up their killing spree, they might even be able to convince every hardened criminal in Equestria to think twice before jaywalking or loitering. Using his violent tactics against evildoers was doing more to reduce the crime rate than the police could ever dream of. And I had to catch him and bring him to justice. There were two aspects of this that bothered me.

As I lie there, with Dashie holding onto me, these two thoughts kept repeating themselves in my head. There was something seriously wrong with this case. There was something different about this killer, something dark and enigmatic that I couldn't quite understand. It was eating at me. Secondly was the thing that had been bothering me since I'd taken this case. This killer was getting rid of crime, quite successfully too. He was getting dangerous ponies off of the street. How many lives was this killer saving? This thought alone made me question my own conscience. These criminals were ponies too...but were they really worth protecting? A killer, a rapists, a drug dealer...were ten of them even equal to one good pony? Did they deserve to live? I remembered then, long ago, something Spring Shower had asked me when I was stationed at the fort...a conversation we'd had about something eerily similar.

 _"If you could fight 'em their way, would you?"_

 _"No."_

 _"Even if it wouldn't be on your hooves? What if somepony else came in and just started massacre'n every Buffalo in the whole place? What then? Would you try an' stop 'em? Or would you just let it happen...and be happy you didn't have to do it yourself?"_

 _"I don't know." I confessed. "I really don't..."_

Was that who I was? Looking back, I had spent my entire life trying to keep bad things from happening. Generally successful, sometimes not, but I never liked seeing somepony hurt. Now I was faced with this situation...somepony was doing something bad, but it was preventing other bad things from happening. How was I supposed to respond to that? _You're doing it again, Drake. Stop thinking about it so much. You're just gonna get yourself depressed._ I closed my eyes and settled into the lumpy mattress.

I was standing on a spacious ledge on some tall, snow-capped mountain. Above, the stars spread out in a glittering mosaic across a black velvet background. The full moon shone down upon a meadow far below, painting the landscape in a pale light. I could see for miles from my position, and gazed out over the moonlit scenery. Where was I? I stood there a moment, sighed, and looked down to find myself wearing my cavalry dress uniform, complete with medals. Okay, I was dreaming. And that meant only one thing...

"Hello, Luna." I said softly, not taking my eyes off of the panoramic view from the mountainside.

"Greetings, Drake..." Princess Luna said from behind me. "You're becoming better at this."

"Heh. If you mean figuring out that this is one of your dreammunication things...heheh...it's because I'd never wear this outside of a dream." I replied, turning to the princess of the night.

"Hm. Such a pity..." She remarked. "You look so handsome, Drake." I looked down, and felt myself blush just a little.

"Well...you're looking pretty...regal yourself, milady..." I returned. I looked up to see her with a little smile on her face.

"Thank you." She said. Her look became serious. "But alas, I came here for a reason...I must ask you to come to Canterlot at once, my friend."

"Is something wrong, Luna?" I asked.

"There was a slaying last night in Canterlot." Luna explained. "It was a stallion who was wanted by authorities for murdering a shopkeep during a robbery some weeks ago."

"The killer is in Canterlot." I concluded. "We'll be there tomorrow evening, milady."

"Thank you Drake." She said. The princess was silent a few seconds. "Difficult to pursue, am I correct?" Her words hit me hard.

"Yes." I simply stated.

"Do you believe that the ponies who were murdered...deserved their fate?" She asked. I looked away, staring back out over the midnight landscape.

"Honestly? Yes." I answered. "They hurt others...they...built their lives around causing pain and...death." I turned back to see Luna standing closer. We gazed into each others' eyes in silence.

"I believe that too, Drake." She said sadly. "How bad is that of me? Drake...I have done...murder..." Luna sighed. "Long ago...when my sister and I warred. I was the cause of much suffering and death. And for a trifling affair alone, I hath slain others with mine own hooves." Tears welled up in her blue eyes. "Do I deserve to die as well?"

"No." I whispered. I sighed and looked down. "I have caused death too...but you already know that."

"Yes, but..."

"No Luna..." I interjected. "It's not different. We're not bad ponies. We both made mistakes, and we both have done things that we felt we had to do at the time. That does not absolve us of our actions, but it doesn't mean we're monsters either." I felt the words spilling out of me, all of the things everypony that cared about me had been telling me since the massacre of my detail. "You're a good pony. Hell, you're a great pony, Luna. You're no murderer, no more than I am." She smiled and wiped away a tear.

"Thank you, dear Drake..." Luna said softly. "For...everything."

"I'm always there for my friends." I said to the princess. She moved closer and embraced me in a warm hug.

"And you are the very dearest of mine." She replied. She then kissed me gently on the cheek. "I must go, Drake. It is nearly time."

"I understand." I said with a bow of my head. "I will see you soon, Luna."

"And I will see you soon, Drake." The monarch said gracefully.

"Drake?" A voice spoke. "Drake?" I cracked opened my eyes to see Dash laying beside me. My eyes shot open.

"Ugh, oh Hell...what time is it?" I asked.

"Dude, it's like ten." Dash answered. "What the hay were you dreaming about?"

"Princess Luna." I said, climbing out of bed.

"What?" My marefriend pressed, sounding very displeased by my answer.

"No...no, nothing like that, damnit!" I shot back. "She said we gotta get to Canterlot...now. The killer's there."

"Oh...well why didn't you say so?" Dash demanded. "Geez...Luna's gotta find a better way to send you messages, man." I paused from raking everything into my saddlebags haphazardly and shrugged.

"Communication at the speed of dream. Can't beat that kind of results."

" _What's_ goin' on?" My sister questioned, sitting up in bed and wiping her eyes.

"Get up angel." I replied. "Hate to rush you, but we gotta get to Canterlot by tonight, okay."

"O...kaayyyy..." She said, getting out of bed and starting to put her sketchpad and pencils into her own saddlebag. "Can we grab some food before we go?"

"Shit...um...we'll grab a few burritos from a food wagon on the way to the train station, kay?" I returned, strapping on my saber.

"Dude, it's ten in the morning." Rainbow Dash stated incredulously.

"So?" I shot back, throwing on my gray, wide-brimmed hat. "Burritos are an anytime food...you know, like flapjacks or coffee."

"Uh...huh." Dash agreed skeptically, brushing her rainbow mane with a hoof before throwing on her bags.

"Meh. I'm cool wit it." Budder shrugged.

"Oh you just like _food_." I commented. "Come on. Let's check out of this rat-trap motel before we get bedbugs. We walked out of the room, and I remembered something important. "Hold on guys. Just a sec." I walked to the door next to our room, knocked three times, then kicked the door wide open. The stallion and the mare laying in the bed leaped up in shock. I pulled out my badge. "C.I.D.! STOP HAVING SEX! FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA! THERE'S FOALS IN THESE ROOMS! THANK YOU!" I screamed hatefully. "Have a nice day." I added, shutting the broken door behind me. "Now let's get to Canterlot."

 _ **Drake is on the trail of the killer now. Needless to say, things are about to pick up in the next chapter. I will make every attempt to have chapter seven up before tomorrow evening. So until then, thanks for reading, everypony. -Drake**_


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

 _ **Hello readers. If you were wondering what has taken me so long to write this chapter...I'm in the middle of a serious family emergency. My grandmother suffered a massive heart attack a couple of days ago. I was there, and was able to perform CPR until EMS came. Now she's in ICU preparing to undergo heart caths and possible open-heart surgery if they find out what's wrong and how to treat it. I'm not gonna go into any more details, but don't expect much from me for a while, especially if things go south. I have too much to do to worry about writing right now. This chapter was already half-done anyway, so I finished it and posted it, mainly so I could leave this author's note and explain my absence. I hope you all like the chapter.**_

It was about three hours after nightfall when it happened. We had arrived in Canterlot in the late afternoon, and Princess Celestia had graciously given us rooms in the Royal Palace. Her sister had kept the monarch informed on everything that was happening in the case over the past weeks, and the solar princess was more happy to see us in Canterlot. Apparently, Luna had told her we were coming as well, and asked her to make sure we were quartered in the princess of the night's wing of the palace.

As soon as nightfall came, Princess Luna came calling. Along with her came her young messenger, Echo. After a short meeting with my friend the princess, I decided to set out into the city to track the killer. Of course Budder wanted to spend more time with Echo, and the batpony promised to show my sister all the ins and outs of her 'awesome job' at the palace. I let her go with Echo, and told Dashie to stay in our room and catch up on her rest. I had a feeling about this mission. I had a feeling about this night, and I wanted to go it alone.

I roamed the city, walking every dark passageway and scoping out every bridge underpass, every seemingly empty building, and every grotto I could find, searching for anything out of sorts, or anypony suspicious. For three hours, I wandered the darkened streets, sure that the mysterious pony I was tracking was here somewhere, just beyond the shadows, ready to strike again. I passed by an alley, and froze. From the inky blackness of the passageway came a sickening gurgling sound, followed by a thud, like the sound of somepony dropping a large sack of potatoes. My heart began to beat faster, and all of my senses switched into high gear.

I galloped into the dark alleyway toward the sound, and suddenly halted. There, beside a dumpster was a fresh kill. You can always tell when a body has just been slain, especially on a cool night. The hot blood running from the corpse lets off a vapor, like exhaling on a cold day. The blood was still pooling around him, and I could see that he had multiple stab wounds, and his throat had been cut almost to the spine. I sat down my lantern, drew my saber and stepped back. The killer was close. The dead body pointed to that, and I could feel it. I could feel something...something I couldn't describe. I looked around, peering into the darkness of the alley. Something wasn't right.

The attack came from my left. I was hit hard by what felt like a hoofball player, and knocked down. I still held my grip on my saber, and leaped to my feet just as a knife flew at my head. I ducked it, and heard the blade ring out as it landed on the concrete. I turned to face the direction the knife had been thrown from, my sword at the ready, but the attacker had already somehow maneuvered around behind me, and dove onto me. I fell to the ground, and rolled over to defend myself. I expected to see a large stallion, dressed for war, but what was pinning me down came as a surprise, and my first thought, ironically, was how wrong my profile had been.

She was a young mare, about seventeen or eighteen years old, gray with a black mane and tail. Her red-streaked mane was bobbed and brushed over her left eye, which now looked down on me with rage and contempt. She wore a black and red tight-fitting body suit, and a spiked collar. I knew at once that this was the murderer, both because of the her presence in the alley, and because of the knife she had hovering over my face with her magic, her horn glowing with a faint red aura.

"Who are you?" She demanded. I stared into her eye. "I said who are you? I saw you in Manehattan. Why are you following me? Are you a cop?"

"Something like that." I muttered defiantly. "Lieutenant Drake, Cavalry C.I.D."

"I dunno what the Hell that is, man." She returned. "And I don't care. So you're Army. They sent you to kill me, didn't they?"

"They? Who the Hell is they?" I questioned. "No, I was sent to investigate your work, and find you."

"Why?" She asked angrily. "Aren't I doing something good? Am I not stopping these badponies?"

"You're wanted for murder." I stated. She shoved me down harder.

"And you're gonna arrest me? Huh?" She replied. "You're gonna arrest me and send me to the gallows for killing murderers and rapists? You're gonna stop me from from saving innocent ponies? HUH?!" The sharp double-edged blade hung over me menacingly. I knew that she only killed criminals. She didn't want to have to kill me, and that was the only card I had to play.

"I don't like these dirtbags any more than you do..." I stated.

"So who are you to judge me?" She spat. "Who are you to try and stop me? You don't know who I am."

"You're a killer."

"A killer?! Fuck you! I'm justice!" She exclaimed. "And you can't say a fucking thing to me about what I do. You don't know what I've seen." She leaned in close to me, and I felt like her eye was boring into my soul. "You don't know what it's like to see pain and death. You don't know what it's like to lose everything..." Her remark made me angry. I thought about all of the troopers who had died under my command, and my dad. I thought about everything that had happened in my life, and how this little killer could sit there and presume to tell me that I didn't know how to suffer. She stared me in the eyes a moment, then I saw her expression soften. "Oh fuck man...I'm sorry..." She loosened her grip on me, and allowed me to stand up. I stared at her, confused as she backed away a few paces. "Forgive me...I shouldn't have said that...I didn't know..."

"Know?" I questioned curiously. "Know what?"

"Your pain." She simply stated. Her dagger floated down into a sheath on her side. Now I was spooked. Just by looking me in the eyes, she had somehow seen what I was feeling or thinking. She narrowed her eyes.

"We're not that different. We find criminals. We have to. It's in our blood." There was a moment of silence between the killer and I. "If we're both getting rid of evil, there's a big question, right? Did they tell you why they sent you to kill me?"

"Because your...methods are a bit...unorthodox..." I replied.

"Are my methods unorthodox, Lieutenant?" She asked innocently, cocking her head a bit.

"I can't see much method at all...honestly."

"Are you an assassin?" She asked.

"No. I'm just a soldier."

"You're neither." She growled. "You're just an errand boy, sent by a grocer to collect a bill."

"You know I have to arrest you, right?" I asked. She grinned playfully.

"Good luck with that." The strange mare returned. She stepped back into the darkness.

"I will find you."

"Happy hunting." I leaped to the lantern, seized the light and turned about to where the killer had been standing. There was nothing there. I stood in the alley, staring at a blank wall where the serial killer had been only a moment before. On the ground was a small scrap of paper. I picked it up. Scribbled on the small sheet of paper in red ink was a heart, and the following message:

 _'XOXO_

 _With love,_

 _Shadow'_

"You are without a doubt the strangest little serial killer I've ever heard of..." I muttered. I slowly backed out of the alley and onto the sidewalk, keeping my eyes out for the killer...this Shadow...though I knew that she was long gone by now. I hurried down the sidewalk until I found a patrol officer standing on a street corner. I identified myself, and told him there had been another murder. He drew out a red pop-up flare from his duty belt, and slammed it against the concrete sidewalk, sending the red ball of flame high into the night sky, a signal that backup was needed ASAP.

The signal did its job of attracting every on-duty law-enforcement pony in the city. Before long, two dozen police ponies had arrived at the scene of the murder. The area was cordoned off immediately, and I found myself being questioned by a Canterlot Police lieutenant and an old veteran patrol sergeant.

"And one more time...what did you see, lieutenant?" The police lieutenant questioned, sitting on his haunches with a small notebook in one hoof and a pencil in the other.

"Alright, like I said..." I began for the second time. "I was out here staking out the area and hoping to run into the serial killer. I heard a suspicious noise in the alley here as I passed by. I drew my EDC weapon here..." I patted my saber. "And ran in. The vic was already dead, and the perp had leaned him up against the wall. I noticed that, and that his throat was cut, and knew right then that it was the killer I was after."

"Uh-huh." The officer nodded, writing down every word I said, and urging me on. "It was then that you got jumped by the assailant?"

"Yeah. Clipped me from the side and bowled me over good. We tussled around a bit, and she disarmed me, and held me at bay with a dagger."

"You were in the army, right?" The officer asked.

"Cav, yeah."

"And you let a mare get the jump on ya?" The sergeant asked. I gave the cop a disgruntled look and huffed a sigh.

"You gonna hold your own against a unicorn armed with a blade, sergeant?" I questioned. The lieutenant looked back at the sergeant, then back at me as if to say 'I ain't saying a thing...' "Especially one that's spent the last couple months puttin' down Equestria's worst criminals like they were flies?" He looked away, knowing that he was in the wrong. "Hell sarge, I'm not embarrassed to be taken to the ground by a girl. You should meet my marefriend and my sister sometime." He looked back at me. "No, make no mistake on this one, that filly is a cold-blooded hunter, and one of the best that's ever lived. The only reason she let me live is 'cause I'm not a criminal."

"What's that now?" The lieutenant asked, looking up from the notepad.

"She'll only kill ponies who've committed serious crimes. She had every opportunity to off me, but she didn't. She couldn't. No, she only kills criminals."

"Hm."

"Alright, you have my report. I gotta go make another one to Princess Luna." I stated. "You have any more questions, send 'em my way. I'm stayin' at the Royal Palace." The two officers gave each other looks of surprise that made me grin a little. "Who'd you think I worked for?" I shrugged. I turned to walk away.

"Wait, Lieutenant Drake!" The police lieutenant called after me. "You didn't give us a description..."

"You don't need one." I shot back. "You're not gonna find her...I am."

 _ **At least you all got to see Shadow for the first time. What did you all think? I'll leave you with this chapter as I try to sort everything out and take care of as much as I can during this thing. I'll be back when I can...I promise. Until then, thank you all so much for reading and following Drake's life. He mirrors me in almost every way, so I know he's grateful too. Until I return with a new chapter, be well, loyal readers... -Drake**_


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

 _ **Hey everypony. I'm finally back after a really long hiatus. I'm still not fully over losing my grandmother, nor am I finished sorting out all of the legal red tape, financial burdens of inheriting a house, and family drama that comes from someone dying. I will be writing sporadically from here on out until everything normalizes to some degree. Hopefully things will get better. That said, I finally managed to get chapter 8 written out, and I hope you all enjoy it. Please review.**_

"You saw the killer?!" Dash pressed, obviously concerned about my well-being. It was only a few moments after getting back to our room, and I was already getting the concerned family trying to coddle me routine. Can't a stallion get attacked by a serial killer in a dark alley without ponies getting all worried?

"Saw?" I returned. "More like got blindsided, almost killed, then yelled at by the killer..."

"Geez Drake!" My marefriend exclaimed. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Well, I'm standing here, ain't I?" I grinned. "Anyway, she wouldn't have killed me anyway."

"Why?" Dash asked as my sister came closer to listen to my account.

"I was right. She only kills bad ponies. But there's more to it than that. She _will_ only kill bad ponies. She could've put me down then and there. When she found out I was a detective and I was pursuin' her, she could have killed me...she was in the perfect position to do it...but she couldn't."

"Why?" Budder asked.

"I don't know..." I replied. "There's something really strange about her. It's like she read my thoughts, guys. She had me pinned down, ready to get it done and over, and then she looked into my eyes, and suddenly everything about her changed. She said that she didn't know I had felt so much pain. How the hell did she know that?"

"What did she look like?" Budder asked curiously.

"Hum? Well, she was about the size of Dashie, gray, and had a black and red mane and tail. To be honest, something is really getting to me about her too, something I didn't wanna tell the police until I talk to Luna..."

"What?" Dash and Budder both asked.

"I don't want to call her an alicorn, but she had a horn and a set of batpony wings to boot. I've never in my life heard of anypony with a horn and bat wings."

"Dude...the only Alicorns in Equestria are the princesses, right?" Dash asked.

"To my knowledge, yes." I said. "That's why I wanna talk to Luna about it. This case is getting too damn weird for my taste. If I had to come out and say it, I'd go as far as to say that this might be straying a little into your neck of the woods, sis."

"You mean it's paranormal?" Budder asked.

"Well, this Shadow pony isn't exactly what I'd call...normal." I returned. "I mean, she has this whole avenging angel thing going on, not to mention that she looks like a vampire, read my mind, then disappeared into the night like a ghost."

"Ghost? She sounds like a demon, bub." Budder stated. I paused.

"What?"

"Bat wings? And the whole getting' in your head stuff...disappearing and junk...she sounds like a demon. She didn't have red eyes and fangs too though."

"Well..." I mumbled. My sister stared blankly at me.

"Drake?" She said in a low voice.

"She did have fangs...I guess I kinda left that part out...and her eyes...one was completely normal, blue actually. Her mane was brushed over her left eye, but a got a glimpse of it when she had me on the ground. It was black with a red pupil..."

"You sure?" My sister asked, her eyes nervously darting back and forth between mine.

"Yeah. You know me, sis...held at knife-point by a psycho, death seconds away, and I'm taking mental notes of everything."

"Ungh..." My little sister protested, pressing her face into my shoulder. I sighed.

"But like I said, I don't think I was ever in any real danger after she figured out I wasn't a criminal."

"Bub?" Budder interjected. "What if she really is a demon sent to kill bad ponies?"

"Well...we'll cross that bridge if we come to it." I answered. "And if we do, I think I'm gonna have to bow out. As good as I am, I'm not really trained to fight Hell." I scrunched up my face a moment and thought about that. "I mean...I've seen Hell, been through Hell, smelled Hell and felt like Hell, but I draw the line at actually taking on the place."

"Only you, Drake..." Dash commented. "So what do you wanna do?"

"Well, it's what...about two in the morning?" I asked. "I need to go see Luna about this alicorn thing, so I'll be back in a little bit." With that, I hugged my sister and kissed Dashie and left our spacious suite to seek out the princess.

Night Court was always dull, so Princess Luna kept telling me. The two bat pony sentries recognized me and wordlessly allowed me into the royal court. Inside the enormous room, on her throne was Luna, sprawled across her great silver chair like a teenager, a book of poetry levitated in front of her face by her magic. I smiled a little at my friend's laissez-faire attitude toward governing the country as I approached the raised dais the twin thrones rested on. Luna heard my hoofsteps and looked over from her reading, a smile spreading across her face.

"Drake." She greeted, putting the book down. "I am so glad to see you. How goes the case?" I responded by raising my eyebrows and shrugging slightly. "Is there something amiss?"

"Honestly Luna?" I said. "I wanted to talk to you about that..." She raised an eyebrow and stepped down from her throne.

"Do go on, Drake." She pressed.

"I have met the killer." I stated. I paused a moment. "And I'm not sure how to say it...but she was...unusual..."

"Really?" Luna asked with interest. "How so?"

"First off, she could've killed me if she'd wanted to...and I'm not exaggerating, milady. You know my record. I've fought ponies. I've fought...Buffalo...but this mare was tough..." I sighed. "I never seen somepony as built for battle and cold to killin' as this... _Shadow_ pony."

"Doth thou think her military...perhaps former military?" Luna questioned.

"If she was, she would have had to be BlackOps trained, and she's too young anyway. No kiddin', this mare was only about seventeen or eighteen." I said. Luna looked into my eyes a moment.

"What aren't you telling me, my friend?" She asked softly. I let out a sigh.

"I think the reason she's so strong is because...well...she may be an alicorn."

"What?!" Luna exclaimed. "Drake, are you sure?"

"She had a unicorn's horn...but, milady...it was the damndest thing. She had bat wings."

"A horn and bat wings?" Luna asked. "And you're certain of this?" I gave my friend the princess an exasperated look. "I apologize Drake, of course I trust you." Luna looked downward. "It's just...unsettling to hear of a pony like that...and imbued with the will to kill." She looked back up and gave me a puzzled look for a moment. "Did she by any chance have fangs?" She finally queried.

"Yeah...she did." I said. Luna's large light blue eyes darted about for a few seconds.

"Come with me, Drake." She said seriously. I followed Luna out of the large public room, through a door hidden in the wall at the back of the room, and down a long hall. Walking through another large wooden door, I found myself in a small library, the aged shelves full of old books and scrolls.

"What's this place?" I asked.

"My private library." Luna said. "Beyond that small doorway there is my private quarters...just...you know, in case you were wondering..." She nervously turned away and began pulling books from a tall shelf with her magic.

"Mm." I grunted in answer. I noticed that most of the books dealt with ancient history, arcane magic rituals and things most ponies would consider dark and occult. "What are we doing?" I inquired, walking along a tall shelf of ancient tomes.

"I have to see something." Luna replied. "Aha...I believe I have found it." I walked over to the small table the princess stood at with a large volume open before her. "It appears that there is a possibility that the killer may be dead." Her remark made no sense to me.

"Dead? As in she's now deceased and we can call off the case, or as in she's a ghost goin' around killing ponies?" I asked.

"No, my friend...dead as in this pony was murdered. This book speaks of ancient spirits and the oldest of dark rituals. It was written by Starswirl the Bearded himself, and remained hidden for hundreds of years. There is a section here about _The Vengeful Dead_."

"Sounds like a bad horror novel." I remarked.

"No Drake...these things do exist." Luna chided. "They have been forgotten in our modern, peaceful times, but once...long ago, dark shadows of unspeakable things still roamed the land. It is nothing to laugh at."

"I'm sorry, milady." I nodded. She smiled a little.

"A wraith is a spirit, killed violently or suddenly, and never laid to rest. They roam the place of their death in torment, twisted by their anger and vexation into animalistic phantoms. Here, there is something else...an allusion to a pony slain wrongly, whose will and desire bind them to return in body to undo the kind of wickedness that caused them to die." Luna looked up at me. "They return to destroy the wrathful and evil until their soul can leave their body and find peace."

"Well..." I breathed. "That uh...eheh...that kind of puts a whole new shine on things, doesn't it..."

"They hath drawn their power from the dark realm..." She read, "...and in so doing, oft take on the visage of the Nosferatu, replete with fangs and perhaps even the wings of the bat...and their power is that of the dead, forever immortal in death and speed and strength drawn from the infernal...and Starswirl wrote something bizarre afterwards...it's Germanian, I believe...Denn die Todten reiten schnell...

"It's from Burger's poem." I stated. "It means...'For the dead travel fast...'"

"What was she like?" Luna asked. "I'm curious...mainly because this is something the likes of which has not been seen in ages. Was she...possessive of...civilized qualities, I suppose? I mean to ask if she had a personality, or was she completely drained of all thought save for murder?" I gave Luna a smile.

"Oh, she had personality alright, milady...she was a real smart-ass." Luna upraised an eyebrow. "She was kind of cocky, which means that she is fully aware of her abilities, and knows she can exploit them fully."

"So a pony who returns from the dead in this way is self aware, not like a trapped soul." Luna mused. "Did she make any comment about her life before she died?"

"Well, she said that I had no idea what she'd been through...that she had seen pain and death, and lost everything." I said.

"That...that is terribly tragic..." Luna sighed. "Just imagine Drake, what this young mare has been through...what horrors befell her before her death to make her want vengeance bad enough to return from the grave to seek it..." I thought for a moment, and suddenly started feeling really bad for the young pony.

"Hm. I suppose you're going to ask me to find her and bring her to you now, aren't you?" I asked with a sigh.

"Yes, Drake." Luna said softly. "Find this...Shadow, and bring her to me. To everyone else, you are still working this as a criminal investigation, with the sole purpose of apprehending a dangerous fugitive and bringing them to justice. In truth, this is...a mission within a mission."

"So...it's a covert op, milady..." I said, clarifying what Luna was beating around the bush about.

"Yes, I suppose." She answered. "Do this for me...If you can, that is..." I closed my eyes. This was my lot in life...no, this _was_ my life. My best friend was a princess with a crush on me, and my means of support, my very life's work was to handle every complex, strange, and downright bizarre case in the country. Well why not?

"Consider it done." I returned. "If I can apprehend her, I will."

"Thank you." Luna said with a little smile.

"Will she be harmed?" I asked absentmindedly.

"Do you think she should be?" Luna queried, a hint of reticence to her tone.

"Do you, milady?" I shot back. She cocked her head slightly and smiled.

"I am glad to have you as a friend, Drake." She said earnestly. "Be careful."

 _ **So it seems that Drake's mission has changed a bit now, eh? What will happen next? What plans does Luna have in store for the mysterious Shadow? I will try to have the next chapter written and posted sometime soon. Like I said, I will not be able to write as much as I was before, at least for the time being. Please send me your reviews or questions in the meantime. Thank you all for reading, everypony. I will try to not take too long with the next chapter.**_


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

 _ **Hey everypony. I'm back with chapter 9. Somehow, I was able to take the time to write this chapter in only a couple of days. With so much work to do around the property and very little money until the paperwork clears, I suppose I need to relax a little and try to write or something. All work and no play makes Drake go crazy and all that. Oh, and I know the last chapter as well as this one is what you may call a lull in the action of this story, but so much glorious plot development takes place, and I hope you all enjoy it. Please tell me what you think.**_

The next morning, I was awoken by somepony knocking tenaciously at the door to our massive suite. A glace at the clock beside the bed told me that it was only ten in the morning, which meant I had only stolen about five hours of the early morning to catch some sleep. I honestly had thoughts of ignoring the knocking and going back to sleep, but thought better of it. I finally groaned and rolled out of bed. I made my way across the large living area of the room as the morning caller kept up their staccato rapping on the heavy oak door. I threw open the door to see Luna's messenger Echo standing before me. She smiled when she saw me.

"Hey Lieutenant Drake." She greeted. "Did I wake you up?"

"Yeah...as a matter of fact, you did..." I muttered, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Heh. Lucky. I've been up since sundown yesterday. I'm totally running on chocolate and pumpkin pie lattes right now, heehee." I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you need?" I asked.

"Huh?" The bat pony returned. "Oh! Oh yeah, That Agent Shackleford guy's here to see ya when you get up. He's in the briefing room, pacing around. Princess Luna told me to come get you when he got here. Oh, and she said to tell you to remember that...what was it...oh, that Shackleford believes that you're still on the case as a criminal detective, whatever that means. She said to tell you that with nopony else around. She also said that you can't tell anypony at all what you're doing"

"Hm. Understood. Thanks, miss Echo. Tell Shackleford I'll be there in a minute. Then get some sleep, you hear?"

"Yes sir." Echo replied with a smile and a salute. "Can I come visit Budder tonight before my shift?"

"I don't see why not." I said to her. "Same rules apply as always."

"Sure thing, sir." She nodded. I smiled.

"Go on then. I have to try to wake up."

…...

"Rusty..." I greeted, walking into the small war room we had created in a sitting room of the palace. "Your Highness." I nodded politely to Princess Celestia, who stood in the room as well, along with two of Shackleford's agents and the captain of the Canterlot Police.

"Lieutenant Drake..." Celestia began. "Sorry to wake you so early. I know you have been working late into the night on this case..."

"It's alright, Your Highness." I waved. "If it means getting this case solved, I can do without sleep."

"Well you'll be happy to know that Special Agent Shackleford and his team have returned from Fillydelphia with information that may be pertinent to your investigation."

"Really?" I asked. "What did you find on your vacation to the city of brotherly love?" I asked the EBI agent. He narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses.

"Well...you wanted info on the earliest slayings, right?" He shot back, then punctuated his statement by dropping a stack of files on the table before us. "I found two more killings that could have been perpetrated by the killer." I curiously picked up the top two files and looked through them for a few moments.

"These victims were almost identical in their horribleness..." I commented. "Both were low-level criminals who had foals, both were suspected of abusing their kids, among other crimes..." I lowered the file I was looking at. A revelation had suddenly struck me. "Rusty, did you get me some files on all murders and suspicious deaths for months before the killings started?"

"Yeah...but I don't know what that has to do with..."

"Where are they?" I interjected.

"On the bottom, but..."

"Hold on..." I interrupted, pulling some files from underneath the stack. "Give me a few minutes, princess. I have to look at these."

"Of course, Lieutenant..." The solar princess nodded. I took the folders over to a small, comfortable-looking wing-back chair in the corner, and plopped down, opening the first file immediately. I looked through the coroner reports and descriptions of the victims, searching for anything that stuck out. As convoluted as it sounds, I knew exactly what I was looking for, but I didn't know what it looked like until I found it. Such is the joy of having a hunch in detective work. I dropped the folder onto the floor next to my chair, opened the next folder and leafed through the contents, my eyes scanning each report, each letter, each newspaper clipping. There were homeless ponies found dead in alleys, victims of muggers and robbers, suicides, and enough descriptions of death and crime to really hammer home that this Shadow was no monster, just a by-product of the darkness and the filth that lay underneath the rug in our society. I stopped near the end of the file, and pulled out a police report about a teenage filly going missing in Fillydelphia. I stared at the photograph in the paper for a few moments. Luna had been right. You know that feeling you have when you realize that the criminal you've been pursuing is really an undead teenager with knives out on a vengeance spree, murdering bad ponies? Yeah, I had that feeling.

The missing teen in the newspaper article was a light gray unicorn. She had light blue eyes, almost the color of my sister's, and a bobbed black mane, brushed slightly over her left eye. This was definitely the pony I'd encountered in the alley. I pulled out the next paper, a police report made after the murder of the missing filly's parents. I had read all about every one of the murders committed by Shadow, but this one read like a horror show. I won't go into all of the gory details, except to say that they had both died slowly, I couldn't tell which had gotten it worse, and there was much cutting and eye-gouging involved.

"What have you found, my dear detective?" Celestia inquired, no doubt noticing my expression.

"I'm...not entirely sure..." I lied, remembering my orders from Luna. I know as a soldier my loyalty was to my country, but I had a higher obligation to my friends and family. If I ever had to choose between betraying my friends or my country, I hoped that I had the guts to betray my country. "I think though...that the killer has something to do with this murder." I reached the reports to one of the agents, who placed them on the table for all to see. "M.O. Is too similar to overlook. Plus, I have a good old fashioned hunch on this one."

"So what do you think?" Celestia asked.

"Yes Drake, I'm curious as to your exact theory on this thing myself." Shackleford added. I thought for a moment, mainly about how to lie to the highest power in the land and the EBI in such a way as to maintain the integrity of their criminal investigation, while maintaining the integrity of my secret mission at the same time.

"Well, the killings didn't start until after this filly went missing, right? And it can't be a coincidence that it was her parents who died first. The killer knew the family...maybe a friend of the filly..."

"You said that it was a mare who attacked you last night..." Celestia commented, looking at the police captain, then back at me.

"Yeah. Nopony's ever gotten the jump on me like that mare did..." I answered. "She had the speed and the weapons abilities to really put her in the big leagues. We ain't dealin' with an angry suburbanite here..." I thought for a moment...to something Luna had asked me the night before. "She's probably military...ex-military, more likely...she has some kind of training. Hoof-to-hoof combat experience, maybe even BlackOps trained. How she knew the family or the missing filly, I don't know, but she did." As I spoke, Rusty and the police captain were taking notes. "She probably killed the parents because she knew what they did, and felt that the justice system was ineffective to prosecute them. It was a natural justice slaying. My guess is that she got a taste for being an avenger, and started hunting down other criminals soon after."

"How do you want to proceed from here?" Celestia asked.

"The killer is highly intelligent." I replied. "Finding her isn't gonna be easy. Now that we know what we're looking for though, it should be easier. I know you feel like an errand boy right now Rusty, but I need to find out who this gung-ho mare is. Can you track down any female pony between the ages of seventeen and thirty who lived near to or was related to the family, who had any military or police training?"

"Damnit Drake, that's going to take days. You do know that, right?" Shackleford growled angrily.

"Well, do you want to wander around dark alleys in the bad part of town all night, Rusty?" I shot back. "I would be happy to trade you jobs if you want mine." Just as I thought, he threw up his forehooves and heaved a defeated sigh. "Look, I don't normally compliment you Rusty, and don't go getting' used to it..." I added, "But you do good work when it comes to stuff like this. I have to give you credit there. I could never do your job."

"Well Drake..." Shackleford chuckled, taking off his glasses in his own little humble-brag kind of way, "I never..."

"I mean it would bore me to death sitting around in an office looking at papers all day, and I just don't have the delegation ability to have all these ponies under me doin' all the grunt work you know..." His smile faded, and he stuck his Braybans back onto his muzzle and cleared his throat.

"I get the point..." He muttered. "Back to Filly?"

"Yes please." I replied. "And thank you."

We broke our meeting, Shackleford and his crew heading back to Fillydelphia on a wild goose chase, and the local police chief no doubt going back to HQ to inform the police to be on the lookout for a commando pony. My job was nearly done. As the room cleared out, Princess Celestia ventured into the hall with me. We walked for a few moments in silence before she finally spoke.

"Is something troubling you, Drake?" She asked, a hint of concern in her voice. I mentally cursed myself for this. I was lying to my friend Celestia to carry out a mission for my friend Luna. Forget military protocol and breaking chain of command and all that soldiering shit, I was deceiving a friend. I got myself into this situation, and I hoped it was worth it in the end.

"It's the case, Your Highness..." I sighed. "To be honest...I kind of feel for the killer, you know?" I looked over to see her watching me, seemingly interested in what I was saying. "Alright, I'll try to talk it out...the killer saw something horrendous, something truly evil...not some monster or demon tearing up jack, not some despot using magic to gain power...no. The killer saw _true_ evil. They saw ponies without a conscience...ponies who could hurt and kill others, ponies who steal and rape and kill and don't care. That's why the killer kills, Celestia..." I stopped and actually sat down in the middle of the floor. "Because they see real evil in this world, and they can't deal with it, and they go out and wash it all away."

"Drake..." Celestia said comfortingly, putting aside her royal station to sit down beside me in the floor of the corridor.

"It's...it's personal, I guess, ma'am..." I continued. "I seen it...seen it myself...death and...and _evil_. I've seen ponies murdered for no reason...homes burned because of hate and families butchered, foals...fuckin' torn apart like paper dolls..." I shook my head. "Is it bad that I kinda envy the bitch? That I can admit that I want the killer to keep doing this? That part of me wants to stop them and do what's right, but part of me wants to do what's right and let them destroy the hell out of evil ponies?" I looked up into the compassionate eyes of Princess Celestia and sighed, frustrated. "Or am I just rambling like a madpony?"

"No Drake," Celestia replied. "It means you care. You care what happens to others, and you hate seeing bad things happen. You are at war with yourself now because you compare your own conscience to that of the killer you're after. If it is any consolation, I can tell you that you and the killer are very much alike."

"How can that make me feel better?" I asked.

"Because you both want the same thing. If you both had one wish, I guarantee it would be for peace and harmony in the world...and end to all things bad." She stated. "And I guess that makes both of you the same as me."

"But..."

"Oh, how you differ? Only in the means to the end." She smiled. "She kills, you solve crimes, and I..."

"Move the pieces where they are needed most?" I interjected with a small smile. Celestia practically beamed at me.

"All pieces have their purpose, my dear detective." She said. I nodded.

"And I will go serve mine." I returned.

 _ **I hope you all enjoyed the little moment there between Drake and Celestia. Call it an existential crisis if you want, or a morality dialogue about justice, it's a scene I've been wanting to get to for some time. Now Drake has a new mission, to race against time to somehow find Shadow and get her to Luna before the police find her. I hope I can get the next chapter up soon. I have a great deal to do though...I inherited my grandmother's house, and it needs more work than I have time and money for, so it's really eating into my free time and has tapped me out financially. My stress level has risen to astronomical heights, and it's a rare moment that I can chillax a little and write, or do anything else that I find enjoyable. I will write when I can, and will probably have the next chapter up in a few days. Until then, thank you all so much for reading. Please send me reviews. Support and feedback from my readers is important to me. See you soon, loyal readers. -Drake**_


	10. Chapter 10

CHPTER 10

 _ **Hello again, everypony. I finally managed to get this chapter written and posted. I guess my ability to a chapter or two a day, or even two a week has gone out the window. Still in the middle of a bunch of stuff. I was hoping to finish this story up in the next couple of weeks so I can begin on the next volume, but it looks like it's gonna be a few weeks maybe. I don't want to give anything away as to what will come in the future, but I can say that Drake's story will come to an end sometime at or near the end of the year. My writing will not, and in fact, I have many MLP fics left to write once this anthology is completed. So without further ado, here is chapter ten. Please review.**_

I really disliked being away from my marefriend and my sister for any period of time. In fact, at any given time, I was usually with one or the other of them. We usually did everything together as a family, from grocery shopping to catching criminals. This case was keeping me away from Dash and Budder more than I liked. Once again, I'd said goodbye to them, and left our suite in the palace to go out in search of the mysterious killer who had confronted me the night before. What was really eating at me was that because this was a secret mission, I couldn't even tell my family why they couldn't go with me, or what I was really doing. As I walked into the less-savory side of Canterlot, I hoped that I could find Shadow and put an end to this whole damned mess, and get back to my life.

I stood in a dark alleyway, scanning the blackness ahead for any sign of my quarry. Thinking of your family, or anything else not pertaining to your mission is a dangerous thing. It lulls you into complacency. Maybe that's why I wasn't paying attention to what was going on behind me.

"Hey pal, those are some nice saddlebags you got there." A voice said from behind me. I wheeled about just in time to get hit over the head with a piece of pipe. A large stallion in a worn old coat stepped toward me. "I'll be having those bags, and that fancy sword you're carrying."

"You better stop where you are." I said, trying to regain my composure. "I'm a detective, and you're outclassed, augerhead."

"Really?" The stallion growled. He pulled out a small pistol crossbow and pointed it at my head. "Never killed a cop before. Guess I can add that to my resume now..." the would-be mugger let out a gasp, and his body lurched forward. He fired his crossbow wild, the arrow striking the block wall near me. I watched him fall to the ground dead, a familiar figure standing behind him, wiping the blade of a long dagger.

"Stay the fuck out of dark alleys. Don't you have any sense, detective?" The killer said irritably. She sighed, and drug the mugger's corpse over to a pile of garbage bags, where she began piling boxes and rubbish on top of the stallion. I couldn't help but admire the symbolism of her action. She wasn't just hiding a body, she was quite literally taking out the trash. "So you're still following me, huh?" She asked as she finished up burying the body in garbage.

"I was out trying to find you..." I replied. "I wanted to speak with you."

"Sucks for you bro, I got nothin' to say." She shot back. She turned to leave.

"I know what you are." I stated. Shadow stopped. She stood in place for a moment, then scoffed and turned back toward me. She cocked her head slightly.

"Oh really?" She replied haughtily. "What am I?"

"You died." I said. "You were murdered, and you made some kind of deal or something in the netherworld or whatever to come back and kill killers...right?"

"Oh for fuck's sake..." She growled. The supernatural slasher stormed up to me until she was face-to-face with me. I didn't flinch or move a millimeter. She stared into my eyes a few seconds. "You what, read some newspapers, checked out some books on Hell from the library? That what you did, _detective_?" She spat. "You know who I am? Fuck you. Did the papers tell you how my mom beat me like a drum every time I blinked? Did they say how I was locked in my room unless I was cooking and cleaning or in school, or how they said they'd kill me if I told anypony what they were doing? Huh?"

"N...no..." I stammered.

"Well, what _did_ you read about me then?" she asked.

"You were a seventeen year old filly. Your parents killed you and they never found the...they never found you. You killed them, didn't you? They were your first kills."

"Yeah, I killed 'em." Shadow answered. "And I'm killin' every fuckstick that's like them too. And you and nopony else is gonna fuckin' stop me. Not till nopony else has to get hurt like I was. You hear me?"

"You cuss a lot for a filly your age." I commented dryly.

"What's it to ya?" She demanded.

"Nuthin'" I replied nonchalantly. I knew I was prodding the bear, but at this point, I knew I had to build some sort of dialogue between the young killer and myself. "Never seen a little foal curse and play around with knives like you do." I sighed. "keep it up, and you might get grounded." She practically pressed her muzzle against mine and glowered at me in shock and hatred.

"What the fuck did you just say to me, dickweed?!" She gasped threateningly, a creepy smile on her face.

"The cops are gonna end up catching you." I said matter-of-factly. "Maybe not today, maybe not next week or next month, but sooner or later, you're gonna get cornered. They're not gonna play nice either. You're either gonna get arrested or killed." Shadow now looked at me curiously.

"Ain't you a cop?" She pressed. Now was the time to spill the beans, and let Shadow know how little of a threat I actually posed.

"No. I'm a military detective, working directly for Princess Luna." I answered. "I'm supposed to find you, and that's all." I took another breath. "If it's of any interest to you, I can tell you that the EBI is looking into your family and your old neighborhood right now. I told them that the killer must have known you or your family. That won't last forever. They may be a bunch of procedural idiots, but they'll figure it out soon enough."

"Why the hell are you telling me all this, man?" Shadow sighed, backing off a short distance and keeping her eyes on me suspiciously.

"Because my guess is that when the authorities find out who and what you are, Princess Celestia is gonna want to have your head on a pike. You've been good at avoiding a few patrol officers and EBI agents, but you're not gonna be able to escape from the Royal Guard or maybe even Special Forces, Shadow."

"The fuck do you care?" Shadow whispered.

"Because my mission is not to arrest you." I replied. "My mission is to apprehend you and bring you to Princess Luna."

"Why?! So I can be locked in some dungeon and fed scraps for the rest of my life? Fuck no, dude! If I wanted that, I'd still be living with my mom! Fuck your mission." She turned and started to walk away.

"I don't think she wants to lock you up." I called after her. "I think she wants to help you."

"There's no helping me." Shadow said back. She paused a moment. "I kinda always thought someone would, you know? That all went down the crapper when I died." She took a few more steps down the dark alley.

"You think you'll change the world?" I asked as she walked away.

"Fuck...I dunno. I like to think I am." she called. I trotted after her.

"Wait!" I called. "Please come back with me?"

"Stop following me." Shadow stated.

"You can come back with me, or go to Luna yourself. I don't want to see you get yourself killed." Once again, Shadow turned and charged back up to me.

"Why?! What do you care if I get killed or not?" She demanded.

"Honestly? Because I believe in what you're doing, alright?" I shot back. "I could've fought you the first time we met. I didn't. I'm not gonna try to stop you, and I'm not gonna try to kill you."

"Bitch, I wish you could kill me." Shadow replied in a harsh whisper.

"Is that what you want?" I asked. "You want to go and get yourself killed?" She started to say something, but closed her mouth and put on an almost pouting expression. "Let...me...help."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Shadow asked.

"Eleven." I stated coldly.

"The heck does that mean?" The killer asked.

"That's how many Buffalo I killed when I was in the war." I answered. "Eleven."

"Hm. Enjoy it, detective?"

"Never." I replied truthfully. "Not a single one."

"Well what abou..." Shadow began before I tackled her, driving both of us behind a dumpster. "Wha..."

"Shhh!" I commanded. The sound of hoofsteps walking past the alley grew louder, and a light flashed down the passageway for a moment. We lay pressed up against the trash receptacle as the stranger spoke.

"Negative on that contact, sarge." A voice said.

"Probably a bum or some kids or something." Another voice said in reply a few moments later. "Most noise complaints are." I was glad Shadow had hidden the body at this point.

"Yeah...but this whole serial killer thing has me runnin' on condition orange, you know?" the first pony said. Shadow looked at me questioningly. I put a hoof to my mouth to signal her to remain quiet.

"I know, but ratchet down a bit rook. Stay frosty, but you don't wanna give yourself a heart attack."

"Yeah..."

"Come on, let's get down to the coffee shop. I'm buyin'." With that, I heard the two officers walking away, their hoofsteps growing fainter and fainter on the cobblestone street until the alley was silent again. I stuck my head up slowly from behind the dumpster. I scanned the darkened alleyway to find it empty.

"Alright," I whispered. "It's clear." I stepped away from the dumpster to allow Shadow to stand. The young killer eyed me curiously.

"You could have totally turned me in there." She said.

"Yeah, I guess I could have." I said back. "But I didn't, did I?"

"So...what now?" Shadow questioned.

"Where are you staying tonight?" I asked her.

"I have a place." She shrugged.

"What, under a bridge? A railcar maybe?" I countered. She gave me a surprised look. "Given your movements and ability to stay well-hidden, I long ago realized that you've been sleeping in inconspicuous places, no doubt in abandoned houses, under bridges and in railway cars...not to mention that all you've had to live on is food you scavenge, and money you take from your victims."

"Who the actual _fuck_ are you, man?" Shadow asked incredulously. "You some kind of...super genius or something?"

"I just notice things." I said. "Now, this alley ain't exactly what you can call...conducive to a lengthy meeting...so let's find someplace to be."

"I'll...I'll give you a shot..." Shadow said. "Prove to me you're for reals, and I might listen to you. Try to screw me over, and I'll fucking kill you."

"I ain't gonna screw you over. I promise." I said. "Now come on. Let's get you a warm room and a hot meal somewhere."

We sneaked through the dark city for some time, keeping to the shadows, until we found a seedy-looking motel. You always know a motel is seedy when it advertises rooms 'by the hour'. I had Shadow hide in a dark corner behind a hedge while I paid in cash for a room with two beds for the night. I even told the mare at the front desk to call for a pizza and some soda, and have it delivered to our room, giving her an extra four bits for the chore.

Once we had entered the room, I double-locked the door, and threw off my saddlebags. I sat my saber next to the door. While we waited for food, I decided to introduce myself a little better to the murderer I'd been after all this time. Shadow pressed on the mattress a few times with her forehooves before flopping forcefully onto the bed and sprawling out.

"Alright...I guess you should know a little more about me..." I began. If I were going to earn Shadow's trust, I knew I had to open up a little about myself. Maybe if I did, I could get her to divulge a little more about her own past, and give me something I could work with.

"Shoot." She waved. "But don't take too fucking long, dude. This shit-hole's got hot showers, right? I haven't had a hot shower since I died." Oddly enough, that comment didn't faze me.

"My name's Drake." I said. "I was a lieutenant in the 12th Cavalry, Frontier Battalion. Now I'm assigned to the Military Police Division..."

"What did you do, kick the general's cat or somethin'?" Her comment got under my skin.

"No." I stated seriously. "I was the only surviving pony in my whole fucking detachment, thank you." Shadow looked up from the bed. I shrugged.

"FFFFFUCK, man." She said. "Sorry."

"Mm. Anyway, I work for the princesses now. That's how I got this assignment."

"Huh. Bet you wish you hadn't now, huh?"

"What? You mean because I have to spend every night away from my family, sneakin' around in alleys all night, babysitting a foul-mouthed teenage serial-killer? Nah, I've actually had worse assignments. Being away from my marefriend and my little sister's all that I hate about it..."

"You really love 'em, don't ya?" Shadow asked.

"My girls?" I asked. "Yeah, I do. They follow me on cases and help out. We're never really apart for very long."

"Congrats, man." She mumbled, dropping her head back onto a pillow. "Sounds like you have a great family. Don't let go of 'em, Drake. Ever."

"I...I won't..." I said, somewhat taken aback that this primal killer had just said something deep. "Thank you."

"My name's Shadow. You wanna know my name before I died, look it up."

"Fair enough, Shadow." I nodded. I sat down on the edge of the second bed. "What was it like...I mean, before you died?"

"Hell?" Shadow shrugged. "From like...as far back as I can remember. My parents sold drugs. Huh...when they weren't doing them. I had to keep the house spotless and do all of the cooking from the time I was like eight. If I fucked something up, I got the belt...or sometimes my mom would just use her hooves. If I wasn't working, I got locked in my fuckin' room while the grownups got wasted."

"I'm sorry..." I said sympathetically.

"I at least got to escape when I went to school. I had to go to school, and I had to get good grades. I had to act like everything was okay, you know...at home and shit?"

"Or they'd hit you..." I surmised.

"Shit...mom said if I told anypony what they were doing, she'd kill me." Shadow said back.

"Why did she do it?" I inquired.

"Because I was seventeen." Shadow answered angrily. "I fucked up and told her that in six months, I could leave, and she was gonna lose her little slave. I should have kept my fuckin' mouth shut and ran away when I hit eighteen. But I didn't...and she beat the fuck out of me. Bad. I'm pretty sure she broke some shit. Then I told her that I was sick of seeing her face...that's when she did...this..." Shadow brushed her mane away from her left eye to reveal a blackened eyeball with a blood red pupil. "Can't see shit out of this eye now. Magic don't fix everything."

"I...I would have killed them." I admitted. "If I knew..."

"Whatevs, man..." Shadow said coldly. "But um...I guess they knew that somepony was gonna see me like that and get like...suspicious or whatever...when I woke up...guess I passed out or something...I was wrapped up in a sheet and tied up like some fuckin' mummy or something. I felt myself being dropped, then I hit the water. They'd tied some blocks to me so I'd sink to the bottom. Know what that's like? Fighting to get loose, knowing you're gonna die? Fuck..."

"I'm sorry to make you talk about all this..." I said in a low voice. "but...what happened next?"

"I died?" She replied with a shrug. "And I went to this place, and it was all dark and messed up..." Shadow sighed dramatically. "This dude...still don't know if he was some dark angel or demon or ghost or what...he said I was the spirit of everypony who died in torment. He said I could come back to make sure that ponies like my parents get what they deserve. He said I could save the innocent and send the evil to Hell. I guess he got a commission out of it or something. I asked how, and he said I would get some of his power and soul, and I would wake up in my old body."

"So you're like...part demon, right?" I asked.

"I guess." Shadow shrugged. "And apparently, and this is really messed up, I'm kind of immortal. I mean, I can still be killed because my body's still a body and junk, but I won't get old or sick or anything. Plus I got a set of bat wings out of the deal. I still can't fly for shit, but I think they look cool."

"Uh-huh..." I mused. There was a knock at the door. I opened the door to the room, leaving the chain in place. A pizza stallion stood outside. I quickly unlocked the door, paid the delivery-stallion, and took the pizza and soda into the room, locking the door behind me.

"So," I began. "When was the last time you had a good old hot pizza and some soda." Shadow smiled a little.

"Too long, detective." She replied. After eating all of the pizza and drinking most of a two-liter bottle of soda, Shadow took a thirty-minute hot shower while I lay on my bed, taking careful notes of everything she had told me. When she finally came out of the bathroom, she stopped and looked at me for a few seconds, as if she were trying to decide what to say.

"Detective..." She finally said in a less-angry voice than she usually used. "Thanks, I guess...for the pizza and stuff...and for talkin' to me. You're a good pony...I can tell...and...thanks, I guess."

"You gonna trust me and go see Luna tomorrow?" I asked.

"I...I don't know..." She answered. "Maybe? I wanna think about it tonight and get some sleep. I'll probably have it figured out...what I'm gonna do and stuff tomorrow, you know?"

"Deal." I said. "Let's turn in, and see what happens tomorrow. I can promise you though that Luna has your best interests in mind, alright? You can trust the princess. We're friends, and I trust her with everything." I turned off the light as we climbed into our beds.

"Friends with a princess..." I heard Shadow remark. "A cool family...a kickass job...I'm kind of jealous of you, detective."

"Trust me..." I sighed, getting comfortable. "It was a long road out of Hell to get where I am right now. Who knows? You might be able to have it too someday." Shadow was silent. I rolled over and fell asleep.

I awoke about an hour later, and tried to sit up, but something wasn't right. I pulled at my forehooves, but they didn't move. From the feel of it, I was hoofcuffed to the headboard. "What the Hell?" I growled, trying to extricate myself from my situation. I saw Shadow move in the darkness of the room and turn on a small lamp across from her bed. In the dim light, the young killer stepped toward me. She stopped beside my bed and gave me a small smile and a scoff.

"Sorry I had to cuff you..." She said softly. "I can't have you chasing me when I leave."

"Leave?" I returned. "The Hell are you talking about?"

"I can't go with you, detective. I'm sorry...I mean, you're a really nice pony, but I can't trust you fully...and I can't trust Princess Luna either. I have to do what I do, you know? And...I can't let anypony stop me. So...bye, I guess."

"Wait..." I called, pulling at my hooves. "Don't go...you have to come with me...you're gonna get killed out there..."

"I hope I do..." Shadow replied sadly. "I deserve to die, the same as the ponies I kill."

"No you don't..." I argued. "It doesn't have to be that way!"

"That's the only way it can be." Shadow whispered. She walked out of the room. Great...I had her. I had her, and was that close to ending this thing finally, and I let her get the drop on me. I was chained to a bed by my own hoofcuffs, and now almost back to square one. I groaned and fell back onto the bed, wondering when room service was going to come by.

 _ **Whew...longest chapter yet, I think. A very poignant chapter too. Now Drake knows more about the mysterious Shadow, and you do too. Where can he go from here? Will he be able to find Shadow and convince her to see Luna, or will the story end badly for the young killer? What are YOUR thoughts about the strange pony? I can't wait to hear from my readers after this one, and I look forward to your questions and comments about Shadow. I will try to get the next chapter up before Friday evening, but if I cannot, it will once again be a week before the next installment. Thank you all for reading, everypony. See you next chaper!**_


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

 _ **Well, I somehow managed to get chapter eleven written in two short days and get it posted before a busy weekend. Budder's coming over, and we have to replace a hot water heater, a home heater, paint two rooms and celebrate Halloween. I guess this chapter is a little Halloween gift to you all. So enjoy it, and please send me reviews.**_

"She _WHAT_?!" Dash exclaimed. I shrunk back a little. "No...nu-uh! No more of this goin' out alone and getting yourself hurt!"

"Calm down, Dashie..." I said softly. "She had no intention of hurting me, alright?"

"Oh really?!" My marefriend shot back.

"Yeah...I know she's a killer and all, but she only kills bad ponies. She'd never hurt an innocent pony." Dashie still looked like she was about to lose it, and Budder was giving me the worried sick look from the chair she'd been sitting in drawing when I'd finally gotten back to our suite.

"What were you doing hanging out with her like you were friends anyway?" Rainbow Dash pressed. "You should've arrested her and brought her in as soon as you saw her!"

"I was um...I was trying to talk her into coming with me peacefully." I lied. "As weird as it sounds, she did save my life. I was trying to give her the benefit of a doubt, you know, talk to her and see what makes her tick."

"What makes her tick? Dude, she's a killer."

"She's not a bad pony." I stated in Shadow's defense.

"Drake, she handcuffed you to the bed!" Dash shot back.

"So? You have too." I argued sarcastically.

"OUT!" Budder called, throwing her forehooves up and hopping out of her chair, heading for her bedroom. I rolled my eyes.

"She only did that so I couldn't pursue her when she cut out." I explained. "I was so close to convincing her to turn herself in too." That part wasn't a lie, at least. I motioned to a pair of comfortable chairs by a large fireplace in the room. Dash and I sat down, and remained silent for a few moments.

"What makes you think she's a good pony?" She finally asked me.

"I know why she does what she does now." I replied.

"What do you mean?"

"I forced it out of her...her past, I mean..." I began. "Alright...promise you won't reveal to anypony what I'm about to tell you, okay darling?"

"I won't. I promise." Dash nodded.

"Alright...well...you know the missing foal?"

"The one from Filly?" Dash asked.

"The same one." I said back. "I'd thought for a while that her disappearance was what triggered this whole thing. Turns out, I was more right than I thought..."

"The killer is the filly, ain't she?"

"Heh. Good observation. You learned from the best." I chuckled. Dashie gave me a cocky grin. I knew that I owed it to my family to tell at least part of the truth, even if I still couldn't divulge everything.

"Her parents were real evil Mike Foxtrots..." I said. "They were dope slingers, and probably did more than that. According to the police file on them, you can pretty much assume that if you could smoke it, drink it, shoot it up or if it was stolen, they had their hooves in it. Their daughter was nothing but a slave to 'em. She kept house while dear ol' mum and dad took every drug known to ponykind."

"Geez..." Dash sighed.

"You think that's the worst of it?" I countered. "Every time she so much as sneezed, they beat her. They locked her in her room when they didn't need her, and threatened to kill her if she told anypony."

"Are...are you sure she was..."

"Telling the truth?" I finished Dash's question. "Yeah. She has one eye. She said that her mom put out the other one..." I sighed. "Still think all killing is wrong?"

"They would have killed her, wouldn't they?" Dashie asked in return. "Her parents...if she hadn't got them first." I swallowed hard.

"Yep."

"And what about everypony else she's killed?"

"They've either killed somepony or ruined lives..."

"You know how I'm totally against you cussin' a lot?" Dash asked.

"Yeah?"

"This is one totally fucked up case dude..." She commented.

"Don't I know it." I groaned. I looked into the magenta eyes of my marefriend. Like the strange little killer I was chasing around, I was in a dark place too once upon a time. Then this cocky, awesome little mare had trotted into my life and changed everything. She saved me, and I saved her...in two completely different ways, but all the same. "I love you, Dashie." I said softly.

"I love you too, Drake." She returned with a small but indescribably affectionate smile.

"Heh..." I chuckled. "AND I LOVE YOU TOO, SIS!" I called. A few moments later, the door to the second bedroom in the large suite opened, and Budder stuck her head out.

"Love you too, bubby!" She said back, the squeaked a big smile. "Just stop being such a jerk." I knew she was talking about my earlier bedroom comment.

"Heh. Sorry." I replied. "And I'm sorry I ain't been around much...this is one of those cases I have to work alone..."

"Why?" My sister asked, trotting up to me with a questioning look.

"Yeah, I've been wondering that too, Drake..." Dash added.

"It's just..." I began. "Just trust me when I say that this case is very sensitive to some very powerful ponies, and I can't really say anything else."

"Ohhh..." Dash remarked. "I getcha...one of _those_ things, right?"

"Yep." I said. "I want you guys with me, and it's been miserable bein' away from you two." I reclined in the chair. "FIGMO."

"Say wha?" Budder questioned.

"Um...it's army talk." I answered quickly. "It means...um...'fudge it, got my orders'."

"Oh." My sister nodded, sure that the 'F' meant something else, and getting the gist of it.

"You having fun hangin' out with Echo?" I asked. My sister smiled nervously, and I thought I saw her blush a bit.

"Yee." She answered.

"Uh-huh. What have you two been doing?"

"Nothin' much...she has a really cool apartment." Budder said. "She has some really cool video games, and we like a lot of the same music, so it's been pretty cool."

"That's good." I smiled. "Sorry guys, but I'm gonna go lay down for a few hours before I get summoned again." I stood and stretched, suddenly realizing that over the last two days and nights, I'd gotten only about six hours of sleep. I looked at the clock on the wall to see that it was 11am. "I keep it up, and at this rate, I'll be on Luna's schedule in no time..." I commented dryly. "'Night guys...or good day, I guess."

"Love you, bub." Budder said.

"Love you too." I said back, messing up her mane before giving my sister a small hug. "Love you too, Dashie. When this damned mess is over, we're gonna go eat somewhere nice." I paused at the bedroom door. "And all I gotta do is find a foul-mouthed teenage serial killer that's better at hiding than I am at tracking. Ugh...damn these ponies that make me work, don't they know I have a life?" With that, I walked into the bedroom, plopped facedown on the massive bed and fell fast asleep.

 _ **A good little chapter, eh? Drake finally stole a few minutes to spend with his family. I will attempt to get the next chapter up within the next five days or so, depending on how much we get done on the house this weekend. The story gets more fast paced and exciting starting with the next chapter, Rusty comes back, and something involving Drake and Luna happens. Now that I've vagued it up really nicely for you, I know you can't wait. In the meantime, send me reviews. Oh, and happy Halloween, a blessed All Hallows Eve, and a magical Samhain to you all! See you next chapter. Thanks for reading, everypony.**_


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

 _ **Hey everypony, loyal readers and new ones too. Sorry I'm being such a flake and taking forever to get these chapters up. It seems like forever ago that I was able to write two and three chapters a week. I do hope that soon I can get back into the habit of writing more. I just can't seem to be able to shut down and relax long enough to be creative anymore. I can say however that this volume is about ¾ complete, and I know it seems to have stagnated in a long train of boring, dialogue-heavy chapters. It all means something though, as this story has Drake examining his own conscience, and his own emotions, such as he must do in this chapter...enjoy and please review.**_

Good evening, my friend." Princess Luna Greeted. "I thought I should speak to you in private before I had to perform my nightly duties. Do come in." I stepped into her room, a large and grandly decorated parlor or living room. The walls were a deep rich blue with gold-leafed moldings and ebony furniture. I couldn't help but think that when I was a foal, I lived in a house smaller than the room I was now standing in. Who could have though that a smart-aleck, dirt poor adopted son of a Royal Guard would end up bunking in a palace, friends with the rulers of the entire free world?

"I wanted to talk to you about...oh, I'm sorry, would you like some coffee?" She looked around her room, which was really a suite the size of a comfortable house, and judging by the three doorways in the large parlor alone, had quite a few separate rooms. "I always like to partake in a cup of coffee before I raise the moon. I've come to adore Kona blend of late."

"Hm. Good coffee. Grown in volcanic soil." I commented. "Sure, I could use a cup." Luna's horn began to emanate a blue glow, and a pot of coffee and two fancy teacups, complete with saucers, floated into the room and onto a small table. She used her magic to fill both of the cups as we sat down.

"I hear that you may have had a certain amount of difficulty in persuading this Shadow into agreeing to my offer." Luna said with with a frustrated sigh. She picked up her cup in a dignified way, and took a sip of the coffee,

"Heh. That might be a bit of an understatement..." I returned. I took a drink myself, and savored the delicate metallic tang of the exotic bean. I swallowed and sat the cup down. "She was a terrible date...she made me buy her dinner and then cuffed me to the bed." I added with a chuckle.

"I should be angry with her for that little act." Luna sighed. "Be there any remaining chance that you can find her and deliver her here covertly as we planned?"

"Well...there be, I suppose..." I replied. "Anything is possible..."

"If this case is too risky or too strenuous..." The princess said softly, "I can release you from your obligation..."

"Ehhh...I already said I would, and I plan on keeping my word." I said dismissively.

"Are you certain she won't harm you, Drake?" She asked.

"I'm sure." I said. "She's had a couple opportunities to kill me already." I took another drink of coffee.

"You take on too many dangerous missions..." The princess of the night commented.

"Heh. You know me, I always find myself in the thick of things. I usually manage to worm my way out one way or another." I joked. Luna remained quiet.

"I...I was just thinking...whilst you were out last eve..."

"What is it?" I asked softly.

"I don't want you to get hurt." She answered. "If you were to be harmed or...or killed on a mission I sent you on..."

"Come on now, milady..."

"Drake...my dearest friend..." She began. She took a sip of her drink and kept her eyes on the cup. "There is something I wanted to talk to you about..."

"Okay..." I said curiously.

"How...how is your health, Drake?" She asked. I started to answer. "Honestly, Drake." She said in a more commanding tone.

"Honestly? Well...I get the pains about once a week or so, usually when I'm really stressed or something...or if I've really been pushing it..."

"I can't lose you, Drake." The princess said softly. She looked away and heaved a dainty sigh and fanned her face with a hoof, obviously holding onto her composure. "You're the best friend I have ever known...and..."

"Calm down, Luna..." I said comfortingly. I reached over the table and grasped my friend's forehooves in mine. "I ain't goin' anywhere for a while. I got too much to do to die." She looked at me curiously. "I owe it to Dashie and to Budder...and to my _best friend_ to stick around and keep tryin' to make things good..." My royal friend grasped my forehooves a little tighter for a brief moment.

"I could..." Luna started, then became silent.

"Luna?" I whispered.

"If you could live forever Drake...would you?" She asked.

"I dunno...honestly, I don't..." I answered. "Why?"

"It would be possible..." Luna said meekly. "I could make you immortal."

"Wh...how?" I asked. Luna blushed and looked away. I cocked my head lightly, wondering what my friend was thinking. "Milady?"

"You know of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence..."

"Yes..."

"Because they are bound together by their love in body and spirit, Princess Cadence's power will allow Captain Shining Armor to share in her immortality..." I looked at her quizzically a moment, then it hit me.

"Oh..." I blurted out. Luna was looking away.

"I am sorry...I should not have said that..." Luna remarked sadly. "Forgive me...I was stupid and..."

"Luna..." I began softly. "I can't be mad at you for how you feel." She looked back at me. "I know how you feel about me, Luna." I said. "It's unmistakable...but I'm not mad at you for it." I leaned toward her. "But no...milady...has to be the answer. I have Dashie...and I love her. I can't do that."

"I...I know that..." Luna nodded solemnly. "And thank you for being so understanding with my feelings. You are as sweet as you are brave and loyal." I smiled at my friend. "Will you only tell me...one thing, Drake..."

"Anything, Luna." I said. She was silent a moment.

"If...you weren't...with Rainbow Dash...if it could be just...us..." She said in a low voice. "Would you be willing?"

"If you must know Luna..." I answered, "...yes. I would."

"How do you think it would be? I mean...you and I?" She asked meekly. I smiled kindly.

"Magical, milady."

"Thank you..." She said with a sweet smile. "I am actually...somewhat happy to hear that...and I respect you Drake, for your loyalty to Rainbow Dash." She scoffed and swirled her coffee, looking into her cup thoughtfully. "There are not many stallions who would refuse a princess. You are one of the most honorable and good ponies I have ever met. She is fortunate to have such a stallion as you."

"And you'll make some lucky stallion very happy one of these days, Luna." I said with a smile. I drained the last of the coffee and glanced at the large grandfather clock near the back of the room. "Well Luna, it's five-thirty, and thanks to Been Frankly and Daylight Savings Time, we both gotta get to work. I'm gonna hit the streets tonight, and see if I can't find Shadow...maybe try and convince her to take your offer again." I stood and Luna walked with me toward the door.

"Do hasten, my friend..." She said in a low voice. "I have heard that Special Agent Shackleford has begun to suspect that the killer is indeed the missing foal. He is on his way back to Canterlot with his field agents and a Special Response Team to 'Aid you in the apprehension of the killer.'

"Damn." I muttered. "How much time?"

"He'll probably be here by morning." "Luna answered. I sighed.

"I'll see what I can do." I nodded.

"You always do well." Luna smiled. "Good luck." It was a race against time now. If Shackleford and his SWAT team got to Shadow before I did, It wasn't going to end well. As I exited the palace and headed for the less-savory side of town, I realized that I was actually worried. Of course I didn't want to let Princess Luna down and I wanted to succeed in my mission, but all that aside, I came to the strange revelation that I really didn't want something bad to happen to Shadow.

For some reason, she kind of reminded me of my little sister. Okay, maybe a much darker and violent version of Budder, but despite her aggressive nature, I could see something else. In the motel room, I had gotten a glimpse of a scared teenager who felt she had no options left. I had seen her smile and her comments about my family showed me that she actually had compassion. In fact, it was her strong sense of compassion and sympathy that made her want to go kill all the evil ponies in Equestria. Shadow hadn't asked for what had happened to her, and she didn't deserve it. To me, this was no longer a case. It was a rescue mission.

 _ **Anypony out there get the strong sense that the dark stuff is about to hit the fan? As Drake said, it is now a race against time to find Shadow before the authorities do, and the story is about to pick up in a major way. I will try to have the next chapter up in the next couple days...hopefully before friday evening, because fridays mark the end of my "work week" until monday. Until Chapter twelve, thanks for reading. Please send me your reviews. See you next chapter, everypony!**_


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

 _ **Hey everypony. Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. Stuff has happened, but I promised someone I would keep writing these stories until they are finished. Then...I dunno...maybe I'll crawl off and die in a ditch somewhere. Maybe I'll take a few SOBs with me...or maybe I'll just slowly and methodically turn into a monster. All I know is that it's midnight, and I'm writing this author's note while drinking vodka...copious amounts of vodka...and wondering why we all choose to live in a world where people deny us happiness, where bad people always win, and goodness and purity always get torn out of our lives as we toe an invisible line to placate the values of society. I miss you, Budder...and daddy loves you, no matter where you are.**_

 _ **Alright, I'll stop bitching and whining, and let you little handful of readers get to the fucking story now. Enjoy it, and review if you want to. I'm writing this on a promise now, and I don't even care that nobody likes it. Here it is.**_

I hurried along the streets as darkness fully engulfed the city. I searched every alleyway I came to, and stopped at each abandoned house and building to peer through the windows or cautiously enter, calling softly for Shadow. Minutes turned into hours, and there was no sign of the teenage killer. By the time four-thirty rolled around, I had almost given up hope. Maybe she had fled the city. Maybe she had listened to my warning and disappeared. Something told me she hadn't stopped. Something told me she couldn't. I finally stopped in an alley a couple of blocks from the train station, and sat back against the wall, frustrated that I may fail in my mission, and debating on if should just go back to my room.

"You fucking suck as a detective." A familiar voice stated from above me. Without standing, I looked up to the fire escape I sat underneath.

"How you figure?" I sighed. Shadow leaped down beside me.

"I've been following you for like...almost an hour."

"Not used to chasing ghosts." I shrugged.

"Demon." She corrected me.

"Whatever." I said. "We have a problem."

"Yeah, you won't leave me alone." Shadow stated with a cocky grin.

"Listen Shadow," I said seriously. "You have to come with me." The young mare rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Dude...I told you no..."

"You're in danger..." I stated. "The EBI now knows who you are, Shadow. They're about to descend on you with a SWAT team, and they're gonna be shooting to kill."

"Like I care..." Shadow replied. She paused, looked at the ground a moment, then back up to me. "Seriously...like a whole SWAT team?"

"At least. By tomorrow, you'll have the EBI, every cop in Canterlot, and probably the army reserves looking for you."

"Fuck." She spat. "I guess I gotta get out of town." She walked through the dark city, and toward the rail-yard. I followed. We soon passed through the functional part of the large Canterlot railroad terminus, and into an older part of the yard, where unused structures and derelict train cars sat abandoned, showing their age. Seemingly ignoring me trailing behind me, Shadow climbed onto an old caboose and entered through the door. I walked in after her. Shadow closed the door and threw a long bolt lock before opening a ratty piece of fabric to peer cautiously out of the small window in the caboose's door. Satisfied we weren't followed, she trotted past me, and began throwing a juxtapose of knives and other weapons into a black duffel bag, along with several cans of food.

"Dinner..." She mumbled, setting aside a can of Sketti-Rings. She zipped up the bag.

"Even if you manage to get out of the city, where would you go?" I pressed. "They're not gonna stop hunting you..."

"Then I'll die here." She returned. I was silent a moment, then let out a sigh.

"Alright...your call. It'll be right here." I said. "Let's reinforce this car with some scrap metal from the yard. If we funnel them into a choke point, we can hold them off a while..."

"Wait, what?" Shadow asked in a shocked toned.

"You wanna make a stand here, I'm with you." I shrugged. "We need to fortify a position and prepare for a siege..."

"No!" Shadow exclaimed. "You're not doing this. Get the fuck out of here, Drake. It's my thing to deal with!"

"Nope." I replied. "My mission is to protect you. That's my orders from Luna, and that's my personal mission too. It's my choice, and I ain't leaving you. You go down, and I go down beside you."

"You fucking dick!" Shadow exploded. "You have a fucking family! You can't die over a piece of shit like me! I won't let you!"

"Not your call to make." I said defiantly. "I'm gonna protect you to the last."

"Why?!" She demanded.

"Because I care too much to let you die alone." I shot back. "You've had to be alone your whole life. Now you don't. You have a friend...if you want one." Now it was Shadow's turn to be silent for what seemed like an eternity.

"Really?" She whispered.

"Yeah." I nodded. "You may be a bitch sometimes, but you're still my friend." I saw a tear start to form in her blue eye, before she turned away and sniffed, suppressing any sign of emotions.

"Okay...your call. What do you say we do?" Shadow finally asked.

"Come with me and let me hide you. I can keep you safe until I can get you to princess Luna. You have to trust me that we're not gonna trick you. You're not gonna be arrested or killed."

"Fuck." Shadow sighed. "Do I have any other options?"

"None you wanna consider." I shrugged.

"Am I a dumbass for trusting you?" She asked. I scoffed.

"Am I?" I asked back. "Listen Shadow...I was originally called on by the Royal Sisters to find out who was killing all these dirtbags and arrest them. That was my original mission, and technically it still is...on paper."

"What do you mean?" The teenager questioned.

"On the surface, you know, what all of the authorities and Princess Celestia still believe, is that I'm still out trying to capture you. Luna has me working on a mission inside a mission. My orders from her are to keep you _from_ getting captured, and talk you into meeting with her in private."

"Hm." She muttered. Shadow stepped toward me, narrowing her blue eye. "And what about this...personal mission of yours?" I snorted, and stood up straight, chest out and head high, my eyes locked forward. With perfect military bearing, I barked:

"To protect you, life and limb from all hazards, with my own life if necessary, ma'am!" I paused. "To ensure your comfort and safety and to do all in my power to save you in any way possible. Ma'am!"

"Wow...that's pretty fucking cool." Shadow remarked, poking my shoulder to test my rigidness. She cocked her head and gave me a sad "What about your family..."

"My duty is first to my family and friends." I replied stoically. "I consider you a friend now, so my duty lies with you the same as it does my family and with Luna."

"You just met me dude..." She said, still obviously angry that I'd thrown in my lot with her and wouldn't leave. "Why the hell do you care so much?" I didn't know how to answer her at first, then it suddenly came to me...I finally understood why this meant so much to me, why I felt I had to help Shadow.

"Because I lost everything and everypony I cared about once." I stated. "I made a mistake, and I lost everything, and I wanted to die. Because Rainbow Dash, my marefriend...she lost all of her hopes and dreams when she was tortured and crippled by a psychopath." Shadow looked at me with wide eyes as I continued. "My little sister never lost everything. She never _had_ anything. She didn't even know what a family was until I found her a couple years ago. All she knew was loneliness and the walls of that orphanage she was stuck in. And Luna? She screwed up and get stuck on the damned moon for a thousand years. A millennium on the moon alone, and she comes back, ready to make amends and try to be a good pony, and everypony treats her like a monster. My family...my friends? We've ALL lost everything once upon a time."

"You know..." Shadow muttered, holding the can of pasta thoughtfully. "You and me...we ain't that different..."

"Yeah...I really don't need a 'we're not so different, you and I' speech right now...'" I sighed. Shadow shrugged and began opening the can with a small multi-tool. Once the top was removed, she dug out a stained plastic spoon and took a bite of the cold food inside. She looked back to me.

"Sketti-Rings?" She offered, holding out the can to me.

"Um...no thanks." I returned.

"Mm...so we going to go see your little princess friend now?" She asked, chewing a mouthful of cold pasta.

"You don't know how much I wish we could..." I replied, looking through the gauzy curtains covering the side window of the train car. "But it's gonna be daybreak in about thirty minutes."

"So what?" Shadow asked.

"So...Luna goes to bed soon as the sun comes up, and that means that Celestia and her guards take over. You set hoof anywhere near the palace during daylight hours, and you're deader than damnit."

"Well fuck...we'll wait til night, right?" She countered.

"With half of the EBI's SRT ponies running around the city looking for you?" I asked. "They'll track us down before dinner."

"So...we're screwed, right?" Shadow asked, shrugging.

"In an outhouse." I added. "With no toilet paper."

"That bad, huh?"

"Alright..." I thought out loud. "If I can get you back to my room, you'll be safe until nightfall." I turned around quickly and pointed a hoof toward Shadow, who paused and looked at me curiously with a mouthful of Sketti-Rings, the spoon still hanging from her lips.

"You know how to sneak around and hide and shit, right?" I asked. She chewed the mass of noodles and sauce and swallowed.

"Yeah, but only at night, dude...I do my shit when it's dark."

"Why?" I asked.

"Fuck...you ever try to hide during the day?" She asked angrily. She flipped her mane. "Not fucking easy...especially when you look like this."

"Damnit...there has to be a way to get you into that castle..." I muttered.

"Well, what the hell you gonna do, wrap me up and mail me to your room or some shit?" Shadow remarked, tossing the empty can into a pile of cans in the corner. I froze for a moment, and stared at her. "What?"

"Shadow, that's exactly what I'm gonna do." I said with a mischievous grin.

"The fuck?"

"I'm gonna box you up and send you to my room."

"You're fucking crazy, man."

"Hey, you know as well as I do that crazy works!" I shot back. "What do you think?"

"Aight..." She groaned, rolling lazily to her hooves. "Let's go."

…..

I knew that we had to find a box large enough to accommodate Shadow and her bag, and sturdy enough to transport her all the way to my room in the Royal Palace. The last thing I wanted was for me to get to the front gate, or worse...be in front of Princess Celestia, only to have the bottom fall out of the box, dumping Shadow out in front of everypony and earning us both a free trip to the royal gallows. If we were going to pull this off, we'd have to be careful in our execution. One thing was for sure, this was one of the more noteworthy things I had ever done in my life. Oh, and if you ever read this Celestia...I'm sorry to have deceived you like I did. I hope that you understand now why I had to.

With sunrise fast approaching, we had limited time to find what we needed for our plan. We tried to stick to the alleys and side streets, but with the sky lightening by the minute, not even Shadow's black and red tight-fitting suit or my camouflage cloak could provide much concealment. That's why urban combat is always so difficult, it's just plain hard to hide. And I was unfortunately experiencing that drawback personally. With only moments to spare before ponies began to stir from their homes and walk the streets of the city, we found a large packing box near a dumpster. It was the kind of large, heavy-duty corrugated cardboard box appliances come shipped in, and this one had once held an oven. It was the perfect size for Shadow, and after dragging the box down the street to a small RoyalEx courier center, I helped her in and secured the flaps on top of the box.

"Stay here, and for the love of Luna, don't move." I said to the box before trotting quickly to the small kiosk of shipping supplies in the little entrance-way of the business. I grabbed a shipping label and a spool of packing tape, alone with a 'Fragile' sticker, and a pen. Hurrying back out to the box, I speedily penned in the shipping details:

 _To: 1st Lieutenant Dragoon Sabre, CID_

 _To be delivered to Princess Luna's Personal Guest Suite, Royal Palace, Canterlot_

 _Sensitive Material, Confidential, etc. Use Care_

 _From: Evidence Processing Lab, Manehattan_

With that, I attached the label and the sticker, and taped up the box well. I then ran inside the delivery business, to where a mare sat behind a counter, reading a home-decorating magazine. Perfect. She'd been working a long, boring night shift, and was almost off the clock. She wouldn't be caring about much of anything, making my ruse easier.

"Ma'am...ma'am..." I panted. The clerk looked up. I pulled out my badge. "Lieutenant Drake, Army CID. I need your assistance, please." She glanced at my badge a moment, then gave me a curious look.

"Um...how can I help you, Lieutenant?" She asked.

"Important matter pertaining to a case." I stated simply. "I've intercepted an important package addressed to me. I need help getting it to my room as soon as possible."

"Alright..." She said, trying to follow what to her must have seemed like a complex military procedure. "What do you need exactly?"

"The box is outside. It's pretty big and heavy. Can you get a couple of deliverystallions to take it to the Royal Palace right now? Here." I dumped more bits than was necessary on the counter. "For the delivery, and a big tip for helping the army." She looked at the bits for a few seconds then nodded.

"Yessir." She said blandly. "Ay, Burl?! Dodger?! We got a big package goin' to the Palace. Something real important like!" Two big stallion came out of the back room, one chewing on a cigar. They sized me up a moment.

"Guv'ment package?" One of them asked gruffly. "Don't get too many of those."

"Got two gold bits for each of you if you can get the box there now. I'll help." I offered. They looked at each other and grinned.

"Well let's get a goin' then." The one with the cigar stated.

The two stallions pulled the box along on a large metal cart, and as we walked, they tried to make small talk with me. I was just happy that my insane plan was actually working. Shadow played her part well, taking on the role of a bunch of papers or supplies, and making just as much noise.

"So...what's in the box anyway?" Burl, one of the courriers asked. "It weighs a ton."

"Hey guys...come on...it's military stuff. You know I ain't at liberty to say." I chuckled.

"So what you say you do again?" Dodger, the other stallion asked.

"I'm...I guess you can say I'm an army detective." I answered.

"Sounds like a pretty interestin' job." Dodger commented.

"You have no idea..." I said with a grin. We approached the gates of the palace, and two of Celestia's Guards crossed their spears.

"Halt." One of them stated. "Advance one and be recognized."I stepped forward and showed them my badge.

"Lieutenant Dragoon Sabre, with important evidence pertaining to a case." I said.

"Understood, sir." One guard stated. "We must inspect the box and its contents for any dangerous items or contraband as per regulation." My heart began to pound.

"That will not be necessary, soldier." I returned. "I am acting under direct orders from Princesses Celestia and Luna, and if you notify them of my presence, you will not have to go to the trouble of inspecting all of this paperwork."

"Sorry sir, standard operating procedure. We are not allowed to deviate without orders to the contrary." The other guard replied. "Please open the box and step aside." I was trying hard to keep myself from shaking. This was about to end very badly. I suddenly got a mental image of me and Shadow hanging out on the gallows, quite literally. The guards stepped to the box, and one of them pulled a small dagger. I was on the verge of a panic attack, and it seemed like the razor-sharp blade of the guard's dagger was moving in slow motion.

"Stop." A voice commanded. The two guards turned to the gate. Echo stood there, doing her best to look very important. "Stand down, soldiers. Orders from Her Highness, Princess Luna...Lieutenant Drake and anypony or anything he has with him are NOT to be messed with. He is on a confidential mission, and is to be allowed in. Orders from Princess Luna herself." The guards looked at each other, unsure what to do.

I smiled. Luna, you genius. The day guards were under Celestia's command, not Luna's, and the princess of the night couldn't give orders to the gold-clad sentries at all. But if I were working for _both_ princesses, and the day guards got an order from Luna pertaining to me, especially coming from her personal messenger instead of Luna directly, it caused such a confusing protocol clusterfuck, they'd never be able to sort through it.

"We...we have orders..." One of the guards tried to explain.

"Yeah you do, soldier." Echo said back. "To let this pony in, and stop taking up his valuable time. Got a problem with it, take it up with Princess Luna, and she can take it up with Princess Celestia, and she can tell the captain of the guard you defied royal orders."

"Yes ma'am." The other guard said. He looked at the other. "Let him through." A few minutes later, I was standing in my suite with Dash, Budder, Echo, and a still boxed up Shadow, thanking the batpony and offering to buy her a small grove of fruit trees.

 _ **Told you the story would start to pick up, didn't I? It gets a little more interesting in the next couple installments, the next of which I will try to have up soon, seeing as I have all the time in the world to write now. See you next chapter.**_


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

 _ **I'm back with chapter 14, everypony. Only took me two damned days to get it done. And as I promised, the story continues to pick up. So please read and review. Enjoy, loyal readers.**_

"What they hay, Drake?!" Dashie exclaimed. "Is that the killer?!"

"Well yeah...but just let me explain..." I began.

"Why would you bring a psycho killer to our _room_?!" Dash demanded.

"Woah, you're the killer?" Budder asked Shadow, walking up to her cautiously.

"Yeah, I guess..." Shadow replied

"You just gotta trust me and let me explain." I said to Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, it's a really like...complex story..." Echo added. Dash gave the messenger a 'keep the Hell out of this' look.

"You don't...seem like an evil pony..." My sister said curiously.

"That's 'cause she ain't." I stated, directing that at Dashie as well as Budder.

"She's a killer!" Dash argued.

"Dash..." I started.

"Drake!" She shot back.

"Dashie!" Budder stated, trying to calm her down.

"Drake?" Shadow sighed.

"Shadow..." I said.

"Drake." Dash said seriously.

"ECHO!" The batpony announced, jovially popping in between Dash and I before falling onto the floor.

"Everypony please just shut up and listen." I declared in a commanding tone. My family, Shadow and Echo all turned to me and waited. I let out a sigh. "Dash, I know you're confused by all this, and it's only because you don't know the whole story. I haven't been able to tell you everything, but Shadow here is a good pony, okay? She wouldn't hurt a fly.' I paused a moment. "Unless that fly happened to be a murderer or a gangster or something..." My marefriend gave Shadow a suspicious glance.

"She's not gonna try to kill us then..." Dash asked nervously.

"You know, I'm standing right here. You could just ask _me_..." Shadow said. She walked up to Dash, who watched the strange unicorn with mistrust.

"Well...are you?" Dash asked. Shadow smiled.

"No...I'd never." She stated. "And you wanna know why?" She added, cocking her head to the side. _Please Shadow, don't be a wise-ass right now..._

"Why don't you tell me?" Dash shot back, narrowing her eyes.

"What if I said it's because you're a good pony..." Shadow began. "And I don't hurt ponies like you who've suffered. I only KILL those that cause the pain..."

"Dude...you're kinda creepy." Dash said in a low voice.

"I know, right?" Shadow said back.

"Alright...I have to wait until nightfall, and take her to Princess Luna." I replied. "Til then, she's gotta stay here with us. You okay with that, sweetheart?" Rainbow Dash sighed and hung her head.

"Yeah, I guess it's alright..." She replied. "You know I trust ya, Drake." My marefriend gave me a small smile. I nuzzled her affectionately.

"You okay with it, sis?" I asked.

"Yep!" Budder immediately said. "I mean, Shadow is kinda...cool."

"I always thought so too." Shadow grinned. I rolled my eyes.

"Can Echo stay too?" My sister asked.

"Yes." I stated. "In fact, I need her to guard the door." I looked at the bat pony. "Stand watch, and if anypony...especially Celestia or Rusty Shackleford comes calling, just tell them that I'm going over a bunch of papers for the case, and buy me some time. Can you do that?"

"Heck yeah!" Echo exclaimed. "I love working with you. You guys are the awesome sauce!"

"That's one way to put it..." I smiled. "Thanks for your help. I'll talk to Luna about giving you a promotion or something."

"Eh, I kinda like the job I have now. I got lots of off time to hang out and junk." Echo replied.

"Alright, then I'll make sure you get a medal and a fruit basket." I quipped.

"Mangoes?!" Echo asked, her ears perking up.

"All you can eat. Now get to work." I chuckled. Echo took her post outside the door, and I set the stage, laying stacks of files and newspaper clipping all over tables and chairs around the room. We had to kill a day, so Dashie lay on a sofa, reading an adventure novel while I relaxed in a wing-back chair with a cup of coffee and the latest issue of swords and spears monthly. Meanwhile, my sister sat, literally on the edge of her seat, her eyes glued to Shadow. The undead killer finally noticed Budder staring at her.

"Dude, what?!" Shadow asked in annoyance, breaking the silence of the room.

"Nothing...just...uh..." Budder stammered. "Is it...is it true that if you cut somepony's head off, blood like...whoooooossshhhhh." She made a dramatic gesture with her hooves like a geyser erupting.

"SIS!" I scolded. Budder grinned sheepishly and sat back in the chair. A small smirk broke across Shadow's face. She leaned forward and said in a low voice:

"Like a fucking fountain..."

"Shadow!" I chided. "Stop encouraging her!" Shadow flashed me a mischievous grin.

"Lieutenant Drake!" Echo called in a whisper, cracking open the door slightly. "Princess Celestia!"

"Shit!" I gasped. "Um...um...okay...Shadow, you hide in the bedroom closet." I said in a whisper. "Go!" She nodded and ran into the master bedroom, silently closing the door behind her. "Remember...not a word..." I reminded Dash and Budder. They shook their heads as I started making myself look busy. A moment later, the door opened, and Echo marched into the room.

"Her Highness, Princess Celestia requests a moment of your time, Lieutenant Drake." The bat pony announced dutifully. I looked up from the pile of newspapers and police reports in front of me.

"Oh...alright." I said as Celestia stepped in. "Heh. I take it you've come to check on my progress, Your Highness?" I asked in my usual tone. Celestia looked around the room.

"Well from the piles of papers and the guard at your door, I assume you're working more diligently than ever." the solar princess commented. I smiled.

"I wanna get this thing done and over with." I stated. "I kind of miss...normal."

"I understand your meaning." Celestia returned. "You'll be happy to know that agent Shackleford has returned this morning. He wants to meet with you immediately."

"Immediately?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Celestia smiled.

"Oh, you know how he can be." She replied. "He believes he has identified the killer."

"Really?!" I asked, pretending to be shocked.

"Indeed. And if he is correct, that means all you must do now is find her and bring her in."

"Huh. I gotta give Rusty some credit. He's a pretty decent detective when the mood hits him." I grinned. "Oh, Your Highness...what's gonna happen to the killer when we bring her in?" I asked, picking up some papers and pretending to leaf through them.

"No doubt she will be tried for numerous counts of murder, and sentenced to be hung for her crimes." Celestia walked closer. "I know how personally you have taken this case, and what level of sympathy you may feel for the killer...but you know as well as I that the law must be upheld, despite the nature of the victims..."

"I...I know that, Celestia..." I sighed. "And I have done my duties thus far, regardless of my own personal feelings." Okay, not technically a lie.

"I know that, and I am grateful to you for everything you have done." Celestia said with a proud smile. "I am sure you will wrap this case up soon, my loyal detective."

"I will." I stated. "Oh, and you can tell Shackleford that I'll be with him in a few minutes. I have a few more things to take care of here, and I'll be right down to the war room."

"Very well. I look forward to the meeting." The princess nodded. "See you very soon, Drake."

"And you, princess." I returned with a bow of my head. With that, Celestia exited the room, and I leapt up from my chair.

"Damn, that was nerve-wracking..." I muttered. I walked to the bedroom door as Echo walked in, obviously a nervous wreck too. I opened the door and stuck my head in. "Hey Shadow, you can...WAIT!" The teenage killer was standing on the windowsill, preparing to climb out the window. She turned her head and looked at me.

"I'm sorry Drake..." She sighed. "I can't cause you and your family to get in trouble. I...I gotta go."

"Stop!" I exclaimed as she deftly swung herself out of the arched window. I rushed to the opening to stop her, and leaned out to see her walking along the narrow ledge along the palace wall. "Fuck, I'm getting too old for this..." I grumbled before climbing out of the window myself. My back hooves barely had room on the narrow surface as I pressed my upper body against the stone wall and slowly moved toward Shadow.

"Drake...get the Hell out of here!" Shadow ordered. "You're gonna get killed out here!"

"Then get back inside." I shot back.

"No." She stated. "I'm not lettin' you throw your fucking life away trying to save me and shit."

"I...told you..." I argued, trying to inch closer to Shadow. "Not your...decision to...make."

"It has to be." She said coldly. With that, she leaped from the ledge and grabbed a downspout, sliding down five stories to a lower rooftop.

"Luna...fucking...damnit!" I swore. I suddenly felt my right hoof slip off of the three inch shelf of stone, and I was falling. The ground, eight stories down was coming up toward me fast. I closed my eyes, ready to meet my end. I felt a lurch, and all of a sudden felt like my descent had been slowed. Somepony had ahold of my shoulders. I looked up to see a familiar bat pony straining under the weight of both of us, trying her best to stay aloft as we dropped toward the ground.

"Hang on, Lieutenant..." Echo gasped. "This is gonna hurt..." A few seconds later, we both hit the ground harder than what was comfortable. I coughed and sat up. Echo was staggering to her feet, and shook herself off before folding her wings to her sides.

"Dude...what were ya thinkin'?" She asked. "You coulda killed yourself, man."

"I know..." I answered in a whisper.

"What would Budder do without you, sir?" Echo asked in concern. I sighed.

"I know." I said again. "That was really stupid...thanks for the save, by the way." I scoffed. "Damned if you ain't a handy pony to have around."

"Yeah well..." Echo returned before six Royal Guards and Celestia herself came running up.

"Drake!" Celestia cried out. "My loyal Drake, are you hurt?!"

"Ugh...I'm fine, princess..." I said, stretching my legs, which took the brunt of my landing. "Took a spill out that damned window..."

"And it's a miracle that your friend was there to save you." She added, still sounding worried. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I think I'll be alright..." I groaned, putting weight onto each leg to make sure everything was functional.

"DRAKE!" Dash called, galloping up with Budder close behind.

"Bubby, are you okay?!" My sister cried, leaping onto me in a tight hug. "Don't die...don't die Drake!"

"I'm not gonna die." I said to my sister. "Okay, angel?" She squeezed me tighter.

"Youfelloutawindowandyou'regonnadie!" She whined. Yes, even after close to two years, she still got this emotional, and still only toward me.

"No...no..." I assured her, hugging her comfortingly. "Echo caught me. I'm okay, okay?"

"Mmhmm..." Budder squeaked. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm alright." I answered. "And I owe your friend big for savin' my life like that. Heh...she makes a good parachute in a pinch." Budder released me and sniffled. I smiled warmly at my sister, and she seemed to be feeling better. She walked over to Echo and hugged the bat pony close.

"Thank you..." I heard her say in a low voice. "Thank you so much..."

"What happened, Drake?" Dash implored. I walked to a position where Celestia couldn't see my facial expressions.

"I needed some damned air before my meeting, and I leaned out the window in the bedroom a little to decompress. Hell, I guess it's where I haven't been sleepin' much or somethin', but I fell out the damned window! I guess Echo had just stepped in to see if I was ready to go see Shackleford, and she saw me fall. I guess you know the rest..." I flashed her a look to say 'go with it'.

"Geez Drake..." My marefriend sighed, giving me a hug. "Be more careful, okay? You scared me to death..."

"I know..." I sighed. "I'm sorry, sweetheart..."

"Are you well enough to attend the meeting, my loyal detective?" Celestia asked.

"Yes...I think so. Let's get up there before Rusty blows a gasket." I turned to my family. "I'm alright guys. Sorry I scared you...really. I'll be back to our room in a bit, okay?"

…...

I paid little attention at the briefing, except to put in my own two bits about the killer. I did however listen intently to Shackleford's plan to capture Shadow. He had obviously thought this out in depth, and was not leaving much up to chance. As Luna had warned, Rusty had brought with him six five-pony Special Response Teams, heavily armed and well-trained EBI commandos. Each team was to be under the supervision of a seasoned field agent. In addition, Shackleford would be enlisting the help of the Canterlot Police, two of their SWAT teams, each under an EBI agent joining in on the dragnet. To make matters worse, they all had a photograph of Shadow before her death. The likeness was close enough to ensure that if spotted, she would be identified immediately.

"So what do you think, Drake?" Shackleford finally asked. "You're the...tactical expert here. Do you have anything to add?"

"Hm? Nah...nothing on this end..." I replied. "You really got this thing figured out." Rusty smiled proudly. "I take it you're hitting the city tonight then?"

"Of course. We'll start at sundown and search every nook and cranny. Your Highness, can you suspend all rail, stage and airship traffic until tomorrow?"

"It is...quite a hassle, and will be most unpleasant for everypony in the city...but if you believe it necessary, I can issue the order." Celestia stated.

"I'm sorry to have to inconvenience the whole city, but we can't let her escape." Agent Shackleford explained.

"I understand." Celestia nodded. All the while, I was formulating my own plan. Plan is a serious _overstatement._ Somehow I had to find Shadow before the authorities did, and I had no idea how I was going to do it.

"Will you be joining us?" Shackleford asked. I thought for a moment.

"Yeah...I will." I returned. "And How about a wager? I bet you a ten-bit coin that I find her before you do." I added, putting together a scheme. The EBI agent cocked an eyebrow up.

"Really? You against my entire team?"

"Yep." I smiled. "I'll take...ummm..." I pretended to go over the map of Canterlot carefully. "I'll take the warehouse district down to the train yard. You take the low rent area up to skid row. Deal?"

"Alright, might as well." Rusty shrugged, happy to finally make our rivalry an official bet. "We'll get her one way or the other. I guess a little friendly competition couldn't hurt. Sundown then?"

"Yep." I said again. Why not? If I lost the bet, I failed my mission and my friends. If I won, all I would lose was ten bits and a little bragging rights.

 _ **So the final game begins. Who will get to Shadow first? Will Drake fail in his mission? I will try to have the next chapter up by tomorrow. Until then, thanks for reading.**_


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

 _ **Okay everypony...I intended to get this chapter up three days ago. It just didn't happen. And I couldn't do it this weekend. To Militantbrony55 and others, Budder isn't dead. I can explain the complicated situation in its entirety to you if you can PM me. To everyone else, my excuse for not writing in a few days is a floor. If You ever restore a 105 year old maple hardwood floor? Try it sometime, and you'll find that there's not much leftover time to write. At least I have a nice 105 year old maple hardwood floor now though. And I was finally able to sit down and finish this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it.**_

I trotted away from the palace with Dash and Budder close behind. I had no idea what was going to happen this night, but the feeling in the air and in the pit of my stomach told me that whatever it was, it was going to be big. I also felt an overwhelming sense of urgency, that if I really wanted to save Shadow, it was now or never. Despite my lack of sleep over the past two days, I was wide awake, and energized. We had to find her before the police did. I was not going to see Shadow hung for trying to make the world a better place.

"So where do you think she went?" Dashie asked.

"I don't know for sure, but I think she's at the rail yard." I replied.

"What makes you sure she's there?" My marefriend queried.

"That's where she was staying, in an old caboose in the train yard. I was there with her last night, tryin' to convince her to come with me to see Luna. It looked like she'd been stayin' in that caboose since she got to Canterlot. I was right about her movements...she's been riding the trains from city to city too. My guess is she's made a home out of train cars for a long time now. Hopefully she's a creature of habit just like everypony else, and she'll go back there."

"And if she don't?" Dash argued. "And hold on...did you say you were stayingwith her in a caboose all night?!" She exclaimed, her voice squeaky with anger, which I always found cute about my marefriend. "That's where you were?! Mister, you got some explainin' to do!"

"Heheh...not a little jealous, are you?" I jested.

"First, you two are in a cruddy motel room together...where I'm gonna add...she _hoofcuffed you to the bed_...now you two are hanging out alone in some old train car together all night!" I thought it was kind of funny that Rainbow Dash was getting jealous of a wanted pony I was pursuing. She was constantly getting a little peeved every time a mare tried to be sweet toward me, it was just a part of who she was. But now, my smile faded when she spoke again.

"Are you two like...interested in each other, Drake?" She asked, her voice actually sounding meek and unsure.

"What?! No!" I shot back, actually stopping in my tracks. "Wh...why would you even think that?!"

"Because..."

"Dashie..."

"She's young and pretty and... _exciting_ , you know? Like...I can see why you would go for her..."

"God, Dash...no..." I said, shocked she would even feel that way.

"So she's _not_ more exciting than me?"

"Dash...she's TOO Goddamned exciting!" I shot back. "Not to mention bat-shit crazy!" I heaved a sigh and started walking again, my family keeping pace. "We...you guys and me, we almost get killed together all the time. That's about as fun and adventurous as I wanna get." I added. "I like Shadow, just not _like..._ that. She's the kind of mare that could get somepony killed. Not really my type, you know? Besides _,_ don't talk like you've suddenly gotten too old and undesirable, sweetheart. You're still one hot little filly."

"And awesome too, right?" Dash asked, sounding like her old self again. "You left that out."

"Heh. You're still only assistant awesome." I stated. "Both of ya."

"Thanks, Drake..." Dashie said. "I...I just need to hear it sometimes, ya know?"

"I know..." I agreed. "Like I don't need to hear that I'm a fat old stallion?" I grinned to myself, before my grin secretly turned sour at the thought. I was getting old, could feel it every day, and didn't like it one bit.

"Oh you are not!" My marefriend argued.

"Yeah, you're not old!" Budder scolded. "And you're not fat. _I'm_ getting fat!"

"Nah, you just got baby fat." I chuckled.

"I'll kick you." My sister threatened.

"Alright, alright...we're here." I said. We stood in the train yard, numerous cargo and passenger cars sitting idly on the tracks, bound to go nowhere until Princess Celestia allowed transportation to resume. We cautiously walked between the trains, searching for the fugitive. "Now...where's that crazy little..." I was cut off by a rock striking the side of the ore car I stood next to.

"For fuck's sake!" Shadow exclaimed irritably, jumping out of a box car. "For the love of fucking fuck, can't you just leave me the Hell alone, dickhole?!"

"No." I returned matter-of-factly. "Can't you go five seconds without combining 'fuck' or 'dick' with some random word? I like you, Shadow...but you gotta work on your vocabulary...maybe get a word-a-day calender or something..."

"Fuck you..." She groaned, rolling her eye. "What the Hell you doin' here anyway?"

"Well..." I began. "Despite the fact that you bailed on me right before I took a swan dive off of the Royal Palace, I figured I'd try to give this friendship thing another shot."

"You...you fell off the wall?" Shadow asked, now sounding concerned. "You okay?"

"Yeah...I have friends in high places." I answered.

"I'm sorry about that..." The half-demon mare sighed. "I didn't mean for you to get hurt. That's...that's why I left in the first place...Fuck, Shadow..." She turned around and not very softly planted her head against the side of the box car. "Just fuck everything up as usual..."

"You didn't fuck anything up..." I countered. "But you will if you don't come with us." She turned to look at me.

"The police are looking for you...like right now." Dashie stated.

"Come on." I said. "No more sulking. We gotta get to Luna."

"Why?" Shadow asked, shrugging. "If I stay out here, I'm probably gonna die in some stupid suicide-by-cop shit. If I go to see this Luna...what's she gonna do? I'm a wanted criminal. I'm a killer. That's all I am. She gonna give me some second chance to...to start over...to get a job? She gonna make sure I end up with some pretty little house with beds, and...a fucking cat...and hot food and...and a LOVING FAMILY?!" Now, I could see through all of the anger, and all of the foul-mouthed comments. Shadow was showing her pony side, and it looked like she couldn't hold back any more. Tears poured down her cheeks, and she stood there, her teeth clenched in the agony I knew she had to be feeling. "Not me...never me...I'm a killer. I'm fucking DEAD...I'm a demon...I'm...I..." Her legs seemed to buckle, and Shadow fell to the ground. She looked up, straight into my eyes. "I'm not you, Drake. I'm never gonna be able to be happy like you."

"Hey..." Budder's voice said comfortingly. My sister walked slowly to Shadow and knelt down beside her. "I know what it's like to feel alone. I was alone until Drake found me. You ain't alone anymore. Drake found you too. Bubby's good like that. That's what he does, save ponies." Shadow looked up at my sister sadly. "Please give us a chance...I want you to have that..."

"Why?" Shadow asked.

"Because you're a really cool pony." Budder said.

"I'm a monster."

"No you're not." My sister whispered. "You kill monsters."

"Come on Shadow." I stated. "I'm getting you out of here." I held out a hoof. She stared at it for a few seconds, then slowly took my hoof in hers and pulled herself up. "That's more like it."

"Thank you." She whispered. "I wish my family was...more like yours."

"My friends... _are_ my family." I nodded. The look in Shadow's blue eye in that instant was indescribable. "Let's go."

We hurried down the line of train cars, hoping to get a clear shot back to the Palace before we were spotted. As I peeked out around the last car in the line, I realized how shot to Hell that plan was. A team of black-clad police ponies were moving toward us, the moonlight glinting off of their crossbows. Thirty meters and closing fast. Nowhere to go...

"Shit..." I whispered. "Gogogogogo..." I ushered Dash, Budder and Shadow back the way we had come. We found a box car with both side doors open, and used it to move to the next row over.

"What do we do?" Budder asked in a whisper.

"Can I take 'em?" Shadow asked.

"What?!" I returned.

"I ain't gonna kill 'em...I can like beat the shit out of them and we can..."

"Hell no!" I shot back. "They're armed to the teeth."

"Fuck..." Shadow cursed.

"Hey Drake!" A voice called in a whisper, making me jump. Echo dropped down silently amid us.

"Echo...for the love of Luna, you scared me to death...the Hell you doin' here?"

"I followed ya...you know, to see if you guys might need help. You know there's a bunch of those SWAT guys comin' this way?"

"Wha...yeah, I know that!" I whispered back.

"What are you gonna do?" The bat pony asked. "I came in by air. There's like...no way outta here, dude." I thought for a minute.

"Go get Luna." I ordered. "Hurry, please."

"You got it!" Echo nodded. In a flash, she had disappeared into the night. I heard the voices of the SWAT ponies getting closer, and herded the group down the line of cars until we came to a gap between trains that we used to move over to another row. The last row.

"Dammit...we need a diversion..." I muttered. Shadow looked around a moment.

"Drake..." She whispered. "You trust me?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I'm gonna draw them off. You know, until Luna gets here. I can keep those fuckers busy so they don't see you guys."

"Too risky." I replied.

"Not as risky as you getting caught with me." Shadow argued. "Listen. I'm not gonna run. Okay? I'm gonna trust you, and I'm gonna trust Luna. But you gotta trust _me_...okay?" I looked into her eye, and finally nodded. I placed my right hoof on her shoulder, and gave her a friendly hug.

"Be careful, okay? Get your ass back here in one piece."

"No prob." She said, grinning playfully. The next thing I knew, Shadow had sped up the side of a nearby rail car, and disappeared.

"That mare can move..." Dash commented.

"Yeah, damned paranormal parkour pony..." I muttered. "Hope she's alright..." I heard a shout, followed by orders being given, and knew Shadow was drawing the police away from us. All the three of us could do now was sit close to the train car and wait. Wait and hope. We could occasionally hear one of the officers yell something, and a few times, I heard the faint click of a crossbow firing. Each time I heard the snap of a crossbow string, I cringed, hoping they had missed. The sounds grew fainter and more distant, until the yard was silent. We gave each other worried glances, wondering what had happened, but unable to move from our position.

"Told ya I could do it!" Shadow announced, dropping back down beside me, making me jump.

"Damnit, you about gave me a heart attack..." I groused. "Glad you're alright, Shadow." She smiled.

"Aww, somepony miss me?" She asked mockingly. I rolled my eyes.

"Can we get out of here now?" I asked.

"No. Those cops are still on the other side of the train yard looking for me. I think there's more of 'em coming too. They're like a fucking plague of zombies, dude."

"Well you started it..." I whispered.

"Greetings Drake! I have come to your aid!" Princess Luna announced in her Royal voice as she descended from aloft, no doubt attracting the attention of every cop for twenty blocks. It didn't matter at this point, however. I had Shadow, and Luna was here. After this entire ordeal, things were starting to look up.

"Ah, so thou art the one known as Shadow..." Luna stated coldly, sizing up the young mare.

"I guess so." Shadow returned. Suddenly, Luna took on a combative stance.

"Then prepare thyself for the end of this little journey of yours!" The princess of the night charged. Her horn began to glow.

"Drake, you fucking tricked me!" Shadow cried out. I leapt in between them.

"Luna...you said she wouldn't be hurt!" I protested, my heart pounding.

"Stand aside, Drake." Luna ordered. "This must be done. You will understand why soon."

"I won't let you hurt her!" I countered. Princess Luna shot into the air, and fired a stream of magic over my head, striking Shadow, who cried out before falling to the ground. I spun around to see Shadow laying dead. I turned back to face the princess. My best friend had betrayed me, and now as she gently landed and folded her wings, I demanded an answer.

"Wh...why did you do this?!" I implored. "Damn it, Luna! You said you wouldn't hurt her, and I trusted you!"

"I know what I said." The alicorn replied. "Drake...Draw your saber." I stared at Luna, feeling angry and double-crossed. "Drake...do not fear. If you ever trusted me...if you are truly my friend, draw your saber." The sound of hoofs on the ground grew nearer. "NOW!" I violently slid my saber from its scabbard. Luna pulled a small bottle from somewhere in her armor and quickly moved toward Shadow's body. She squirted a thick red substance on her neck, and again on her chest, and stepped back a few paces.

"What are you doing?" I asked, completely confused.

"They must believe that you have killed her." Luna answered. "And here they come." Before I could ask what the Hell she was talking about, I heard the sound of a group of ponies approaching quickly. A moment later, Rusty Shackleford came galloping down the row of cars with twenty tactical ponies behind him. They came to a dead stop when they saw me standing near the still form of Shadow with my saber drawn.

"Drake...what happened?" Shackleford pressed.

"I...I..." I stammered.

"He did what was unfortunately necessary." Luna sighed. "Alas, I was too late to stop this. She tried to attack him, and he has cut down the killer."

"Well..." Shackleford commented. "I suppose this could have ended worse. At least this killing rampage is over now." He gazed at the body a long moment, then turned to me. "So that's her, eh?"

"Yep."

"Huh. I figured she'd be...bigger." He said curiously. I scoffed. "Well...I guess you win, Lieutenant."

"Keep your money." I stated in reply. "I don't wanna win like...this."

"I will take her to the palace myself." Princess Luna advised. "I want my own medical examiner to perform the autopsy."

"Understood, Your Highness." Rusty nodded. "I guess I will go dismiss all of my team members?"

"Yes, you are relieved, Agent Shackleford." Princess Luna stated gratefully. "Thank you for all of your help in this matter." She then looked at me. "And you and your family may return to your room. I will call upon you shortly. I need to speak with you in private before you depart."

"Yeah...alright, Your Highness..." I sighed. "I'll...I'll see you in a bit, I guess." I replied. It's not that I didn't grasp the idea that Shadow was dangerous, and that the Princesses had to do what was necessary to protect their subjects, good or bad, and preserve and uphold the law...I understood that part completely. I just couldn't digest the fact that Luna, my best friend in Equestria, had lied to me and used me to lure Shadow into a trap. Shadow had trusted me, and I had grown to trust her. Shadow had become my friend, and like I had told the young half-demon avenger, my friends were my family. Somepony in my family had betrayed somepony else. She wanted to talk to me later...no doubt an after-action kind of discussion. I was going to get my answers

 _ **Well that didn't work out too well for everypony, did it? Especially Shadow. Lots of unanswered questions after this chapter. Why did Luna kill Shadow? What motive did she have for double-crossing Drake? What does she want to speak with him about now that this whole thing is over?Or is it really? Anypony else get the feeling things are about to end in a way you didn't expect? I will have the next chapter up soon. And I mean very soon this time. Either later today or tomorrow. So expect the conclusion**_


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

 _ **As promised, I've returned with the next chapter. After that last one, I'm sure you wanna see what happens, so enjoy, and don't forget to review.**_

"Drake?" Dashie asked softly as I violently stuffed all of my belongings into my saddlebags. "Are you alright?"

"No..." I returned sourly. I raked a hoof through my messy black mane and sighed. "I'm pissed at all of this. I promised Shadow I wouldn't let anything happen to her. I let her down, Dash..."

"It's not your fault..."

"The Hell it ain't." I stated. "I hate these damned dark-side, black-op, cloak and dagger things. You never know who to trust...I just thought I could...you know..."

"Trust Princess Luna?" Dash finished my sentence. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to keep my cool.

"Yeah. Now Shadow's dead, and Budder's in her room bawling her eyes out because she just lost a friend. And I'm left holding the bag."

"What are you gonna do?" Dash asked.

"Well..." I began, placing my gray cavalry hat on my head. "I'm gonna go see Luna. When I do, I'm gonna send Echo up here to cheer sis up. Then, I'm gonna walk right in and ask Luna why she stabbed me in the back. Then, I'm gonna quit."

"Quit? Drake..."

"I'm done, sweetheart." I said. "We've been sent to old mines and haunted houses and thrown after killers and terrorists, and it's like it's getting worse the longer it goes on. Not only am I putting you and Budder in danger every damned time we take on one of these cases, but if we're gonna be lied to by our employers, I'm really drawing the line. Budder don't need to grow up not trusting anypony, and I'm getting too friggin' old for this crap." I heard a knock at the door, and shot Dashie an exasperated glance before opening it.

"Speak of the Devil..." I stated blandly. "How are ya, Echo?"

"I'm uh...I'm alright." She answered, sensing my mood. "How are you?"

"Dunno yet." I said. "I guess Luna wants to see me now?"

"Yeah...she sent me to get you. What's goin' on anyway?" The bat pony asked me.

"Ugh...I'll fill you in later, I guess." I answered. "Listen, can you go talk to Budder? She's kind of depressed right now." Echo's ears drooped.

"Awww...I can't stand even thinking about her bein' sad." She answered. "Yeah, I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks." I said softly. "Oh, and we'll be leaving soon. What I said before still stands. You're still welcome to visit us whenever you want."

"I'll have to do that, sir." She smiled. "Luna is in her private study. She said you know where that is."

"Yeah, I do." I answered as I walked out of the room and the messenger walked in to comfort my sister. I made my way down the long hall to the Royal Court, then used the hidden door in the wall to gain entry to the long passageway leading to Princess Luna's hidden room. I walked slowly, thinking about how this was going to go, what I was going to say, and what was going to happen once I resigned. I paused at the door and took a deep breath. I knocked three times.

"You may enter." Princess Luna's voice stated from inside the room. I pushed open the door and froze at what I saw.

Inside the small library stood Princess Luna. Beside her was a tall creature who looked like a dragon with a pony's head and mismatched arms, legs and antlers. On a normal day, that alone would have my undivided attention. This had not been a normal day, and besides, there was something more important stealing all of my notice. To the other side of Luna, Shadow was standing, wearing a spiked collar and wristbands, and a grin on her face.

"Hey." Shadow greeted innocently.

"Okay...what the Hell's going on?!" Was the first thing I could say.

"Well nice to see you too, dickmonkey." Shadow sighed.

"I am sure you have many questions, my dear Drake." Luna finally stated, stepping toward me.

"That's the understatement of the century." I returned. Luna smiled playfully.

"I told you to trust me, did I not?" The princess asked. "What I did, I did to save Shadow, and to make sure that she was...dead."

"Dead?" I asked curiously. It suddenly dawned on me. "You wanted everypony to think she was dead...even me. You didn't kill her, you used some kind of knock-out spell or something..."

"Stasis enchantment." Luna corrected me. "Old necromancy spell."

"Right..alright...then you had her body brought here, where she was declared dead by your medical examiner..."

"Who was told to bury her immediately in secret to prevent grave-robbery, as is done with many high-profile killers." Luna added. "After which, I removed her body in secret and brought her here." Luna looked at Shadow a moment then back to me. "The only souls who know Shadow still lives are the three of us."

"Heh. I'm dead, dude." The young killer chuckled.

"Okay...I get the big scheme..." I thought out loud. "But why is it so important everypony thinks she's dead...and by the way milady...who's this?" I glanced at the strange chimera-dragon creature, who was now floating in a folding lawn chair, sipping a glass of chocolate milk. Correction, he was sipping the glass _off_ of the chocolate milk.

"Oh, you finally bother to greet me? I was _wondering_ if you were just going to ignore me the whole time..." He stated. Luna rolled her eyes as the lawn chair and milk disappeared in a flash and the creature was now standing in front of me, now wearing a black suit, sunglasses and an earbud. "I am just a government man doing his job for the taxpayers. I am surprised you haven't heard of me before. Then again, the fact that you haven't means I'm doing my job, heeheehee."

"Drake, this is Discord." Luna said, interrupting the silly monologue.

"Discord?" I repeated. "As in the lord of chaos Discord..."

"The one and only." Discord answered happily, now somehow standing behind me and twisting himself around me to look me in the eyes. "Though completely reformed now, thanks to Luna and her dear, dear sister, old Sunbutt." Luna snickered a bit. A photograph of a familiar yellow pegasus with a pink mane appeared in Discord's right hand, which was a lion's paw. "And of course thanks to my sweet little Fluttershy..." The photo and Discord disappeared, and he reappeared next to me on a recliner, wearing a tee shirt and a baseball cap that read 'Bubba' "Leave it to a good woman to keep a fella' honest, right?" With that, he teleported again, this time looking normal, or at least as normal as he could look. "Now I have a job befitting my abilities as it seems."

"Discord, because of his abilities at trickery and skulduggery has been made director of the Equestria Security Agency." Okay, that actually made sense. "Which brings us to the issue at hoof. Shadow has been offered a job befitting _her_ abilities." Shadow trotted up to me and smiled.

"I get to kill terrorists and murderers." She said. "Any way I want! And I actually get paid for it now! How fucking cool is that?"

"Colorful one, isn't she?" Discord commented.

"You got no idea..." I answered.

"Indeed..." Luna continued, "Shadow here is charged with protecting the citizens and government of Equestria by eliminating the worst of the worst, if you forgive my euphemism. Many terrible ponies have done unspeakable things. Terrorist groups threaten our safety and way of life. We have long needed somepony who is capable of dealing with such evil on its own terms. When I learned that Shadow was pure of heart and acted only on the side of justice, I knew she was the answer to our hopes and prayers. She will accept only the jobs she wants, and will be given a comfortable home and be paid well for her services."

"Well Shadow..." I said with a warm smile. "I told you things would work out for you, didn't I?" The next thing I knew, Shadow had grabbed me in a tight hug.

"Dude...I owe you...I owe you so fucking much..." She said emotionally. "Your little sis was right man...you do save ponies." She pulled back and was smiling, her cheeks damp with tears. "Hell, you saved me...even though I was being a total dick about it."

"Shadow, I'm just glad I could help you." I replied. "And I'm glad you get the life you deserve. This... _is_...the life you want, right?"

"Fuck yeah!" She exclaimed. "I'm saving ponies and killing dirtbags, and I finally get to be happy doin' it! Hot showers, pizza...my own house. I love it!"

"And you get to change the world." I added somberly. She cocked her head a moment, then smiled.

"Yeah, I guess I do." She said softly. "Just like you do."

"Awwww...this is such a sweet little moment between friends..." Discord interrupted, appearing beside us and grabbing us both in an annoying hug.

"You just have to work with...him." I commented.

"Meh. Chaos can be kinda fun sometimes." Shadow shrugged. "Who the fuck likes normal?"

"Well, we must be going." Discord stated.

"I guess this is goodbye for now." Shadow said. "Can I...come visit you guys sometime?"

"You better." I deadpanned. "Don't make me hunt you down."

"Like you could." She grinned. "I'll see ya around. I promise."

"I'll get you that word-a-day calender."

"Fuck you." She shot back, then smiled warmly as she moved to stand beside Discord, who was impatiently staring at a melting clock on his arm. "Thanks, Drake." She said. I smiled and nodded.

"Oh, and Lieutenant Drake?" The lord of chaos said. "Not that it means much to you now, but some rather big events are in the works. You may have a case soon that will prove to be very interesting." With that, Discord and Shadow disappeared from the room.

"Is there anything you need, dear Drake?" Luna asked gently, moving closer.

"A hot meal and a good night's sleep?" I returned. "I'm just glad this thing's over...and that it ended well."

"Return home, Drake. I am sure there will be a large chest awaiting you." She smiled.

"Thank you, milady." I said simply, feeling very tired now that it was all over.

"And before you go, I wish to give you something as my own form of payment."

"Alright..." I replied. I yawned, and as my eyes were closed, Luna took the opportunity to lean in and kiss me lovingly on the lips. I practically leaped backwards.

"I will tell no one if you do not." Luna whispered. "I apologize, yet I do not. I only wanted to know what it felt like...to be loved by you. I do remember our talk...and your answer. You will hear no more of my desires, if you wish."

"I'll tell no one." I stated. "I have to go now though. I look forward to seeing you again soon, Luna."

"And you, my dearest friend." She returned. I walked to the door, and paused a moment.

"Well...how was it?" I asked, a smirk on my lips.

"Magical."

 _ **So wraps up the story. A little epilogue is forthcoming, to tie up any lose ends and end the story properly. What did you think? Did the turn of events surprise you? I will post the last chapter in a few hours. Until then, thanks for reading.**_


	17. Chapter 17

**EPILOGUE**

 _ **As promised, here's the epilogue. Amazingly, this is the third chapter I've been able to post today. It's been a long time since I've written this much in a single day. I hope you all enjoy the ending of volume 9. Please review.**_

"So it was all a trick to make Shadow disappear?" Dash asked in surprise. "So she could hunt down bad ponies for the ESA...which Discord is over?"

"Yep...that's pretty much the gist of it." I answered with a shrug before taking a drink of my coffee.

"So Shadow's okay?!" Budder asked gleefully, almost leaping from her chair onto the dining table.

"Yeah, she is." I answered. "But keep it on the down-low. I don't even think I'm supposed to be telling _you guys_ this stuff. It's supposed to be a big national secret, understand?"

"Yep!" My sister chirped. "I won't say a thing." She paused. "We'll see her again, right, bub?"

"Well, I did say I'd stop by." A familiar voice replied. We all turned to see Shadow leaned up against the door frame of the dining room. She was wearing a black, tight-fitting one piece suit with red accents, and a spiked collar. Two wicked-looking trench knives hung from a belt at her sides.

"Shadow...didn't expect to see you this soon." I said, rising to greet her. Shadow walked into the room and my sister ran to her and hugged her like a long-lost aunt.

"I'm going on a job. There's ponies that need killin', and I leave tonight. I just thought I'd stop in and...ya know, see ya before I go." She explained. "I guess uh..." The fearsome undead killer was acting a little shy now. "I wanted to see my...family...before I had to go..."

"I'm glad you did." I said. "You come back from your mission, you hear me? And stop by when you get back...let your family know you're okay."

"I will." She said dutifully.

"Pick us up a snowglobe or a tee shirt or something from the gift shop." I grinned.

"Oh for fuck's sake..." She groaned, shaking her head. "There it is..." She sighed and gave me a small smile. "I'll come back and visit when I'm done savin' the world, assbutt."

"We'll be waitin'." I stated. She walked out of the dining room, and we heard the front door open and close.

"She's very..." Dash muttered.

"Unique..." I concluded. I sat back down at the table and picked up my mug. Then again, she was _our_ friend. Of course she was bound to be strange. Who likes normal anyway?

 _ **So ends volume nine of 'One Pony's Tale: The Drake Chronicles'. I hope at least some of you enjoyed this arc of Drake's life. This story has been a labor...so much has happened since I started writing this volume...I want to take the time to dedicate this story to my grandmother, Lerlie Salisbury-Harrington. She asked me almost every day how my stories were coming along. Now that she has passed away, things are so very different. I've become not only the heir to the family home, and to the entirety of my family history. All of the photos and keepsakes of my maternal lineage are now my responsibility.**_

 _ **I will be starting a new volume soon, probably tomorrow. It will be a bit different from the last few, and will center around Drake and family's domestic life. Expect the sort of comedy and wit you've seen out of the gang in previous stories, only more of it. Also, there will be four more stories left in the series, three if I decide to end the series on a high note. Oops, did I type that? Spoiler, maybe? You'll just have to wait and see. I will be back soon with the next volume, everypony. -Drake**_


End file.
